Raiders ready for Northeastern rematch

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By Marc Katz, Staff Writer Updated 10:05 PM Thursday, November 26, 2009

FAIRBORN — The Wright State men’s basketball team had an early Thanksgiving Day practice Thursday, Nov. 26, then boarded a bus to the airport. They had Thanksgiving dinner at their hotel in Boston.

Today, they have a practice at Northeastern’s Matthews Arena, where they will meet the Huskies at 2 p.m. Saturday.

When these two teams last met, it was in last year’s ESPN BracketBusters match that ended with Northeastern beating WSU 69-57 at the Nutter Center. Four of the starters for Northeastern in that game return, including Chaisson Allen, who scored 20 points. Only Eugene Spates, who was a senior, is gone. He led the Huskies with 22 that day.

Wright State, meanwhile, is a much different team. The Raiders were without star guard Vaughn Duggins last year due to injury, and all Duggins did in his first game Thursday was score 21 points and play defense well enough to hold Central Michigan’s leading scorer to less than half his usual points.

Wright State was also competing without Duggins’ replacement, John David Gardner, who was out with a hip injury.

Todd Brown led the Raiders in scoring with 15 points, and Ronnie Thomas followed with 12. Both are in the starting lineup this year as well, and Brown has scored in double figures in each of his four games, including three times with 20 or more.

At the moment, the Raiders are playing well, and the Huskies are 1-2 after losing in overtime to Boston University on Wednesday. WSU is 3-1 and on a three-game winning streak.

After Saturday’s game, the Raiders begin their Horizon League schedule with Cleveland State and Youngstown State visiting Thursday and Saturday. The Thursday game will begin two hours later than usual, at 9 p.m., for ESPNU.

— Marc Katz

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