Wright State stumbles again on the road

Credit: Nick Graham

Credit: Nick Graham

The road continued to treat the Wright State men’s basketball team unkindly Wednesday night as Loyola (Ill.) topped the Raiders 77-64 in the Gentile Center.

Loyola opened a 37-28 halftime lead and it never got much better for the Raiders, who, after winning their season opener on the road against Southern Illinois, have dropped their last three away from home.

Mark Alstork led WSU with 13 points, Grant Benzinger added 12 and Justin Mitchell 11, but the Raiders shot 40 percent from the field and went 5-for-20 from 3-point range.

Loyola, meanwhile, shot 58 percent from the field. The Ramblers, who won despite being out-rebounded 38-27, had four double-digit scorers led by Milton Doyle with 13.

“We’re not getting any stops at all,” WSU coach Scott Nagy lamented. “We’ve not been good defensively the whole year. There’s some things we have to change as coaches because what we’re teaching is not getting through.”

Wright State, which had won seven straight against Loyola and 13 of the last 14 meetings, led 9-8 six minutes into the game, but never again. Loyola has now won 18 of its last 19 non-conference home games, including all six this season.

“They just have a lot tougher team right now,” said Nagy, whose team has lost three straight after a 6-1 start.

The Raiders take on Division II Urbana at the Nutter Center on Tuesday before hitting the road for four more games beginning Dec. 18 at Kent State and leading into the start of Horizon League play.

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