“I don’t know how to cut down the nets,” said the 6-foot-7 graduate post player who has been an integral part of the Raiders’ team the past two seasons after stops at three colleges prior to that.
“I’ve been a part of losing teams my whole life — I’ve never cut a net before — so this is a first. I’m really excited. I want to do it right because it means a lot.”
The long-standing hoops tradition is symbolic of team triumph and that’s what this moment was all about for the Wright State Raiders who had just mounted a wondrous comeback from 12 points down deep into the second half and edged Detroit Mercy, 66-63, in the Horizon League Tournament championship game.
The victory gave them the league’s automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament.
It will be the school’s fifth trip to the annual college hoops extravaganza since becoming a Division I program in 1987. Before that the Raiders were annual invitees to the Division II tournament and won the D-II national title in 1983.
No matter what the level, the postgame euphoria in a championship game like this one sweeps over everybody on the winning side and that’s why Imariagbe — possibly looking for advice — ended up standing next to guard Sam Alamutu, who had joined the Raiders this season after four years at Vermont, where he was on three NCAA Tournament teams.
He was the only Raiders player with previous NCAA Tournament experience.
“I’ve done this before,” Alamutu said quietly. “I’ve got a little trophy case at home (in Ajax, Ontario) where I’ve got pieces of all the nets I’ve cut down. My parents make sure it’s all on display there. They’re proud of it.”
It will be no different for the rest of the Raiders and their families after what this team has done.
Not only did the Raiders mount an unbelievable comeback — their victory sealed with two dramatic blocked shots by 6-foot-9 freshman Kellen Pickett in the final 13 seconds, the last one a stuff of what would have been the game-tying layup by Detroit star Orlando Lovejoy with 1.0 second left — but they showed grit and resilience in the regular season when they overcame a 3-5 start to finish 23-11 and win the Horizon League regular season crown, as well.
“This really shows the heart of Wright State — how we never give up; how we just keep going no matter what we face,” WSU president Dr. Susan Edwards said joyfully, her Australian accent making it sound even more special.
She wore a gold Raiders’ t-shirt and a nonstop smile as she went from player to player offering congratulations.
“These players are a shining example of our students. They are fantastic representatives of our school and what we are about. I’m super happy for them and their coach.”
‘This is a dream come true’
Clint Sargent, who went from 15-18 in his inaugural season last year to the Horizon League Coach of the Year this season, deserves special praise for the way he brought new life and a deep sense of connectivity to the team and the program, in general.
He was especially on his game against Detroit Mercy when a couple of his and his staff’s coaching moves panned out perfectly.
He kept backup senior guard Logan Woods in the game down the stretch on a “gut feel.”
Afterward, he said it came after he’d seen Woods momentarily flex after “battling for a 50-50 ball” and sensed he was really dialed into the moment and ready to compete.
Woods had started 8 of the first 11 games this season — and 25 games last year — but then was made a backup. He played just six minutes when the Raiders faced Detroit Mercy last month and got in just three minutes in a game against Robert Morris 2 ½ weeks ago.
With Tuesday night’s game tied, 56-56, he hit a three-point shot with 2:11 left to put the Raiders up by three and then 50 seconds later he made another to give WSU a six-point lead, a margin the Titans could never quite overcome after that.
“This has always been in my blood,” Woods said as he celebrated on the court with one of the thick, gold-painted chains bearing a WSU logo around his neck. It was one of the celebratory souvenirs handed out to all the players by athletics director Joylynn Brown.
“No matter what happened, I’ve stayed in the fight,” said Woods, a Fairfield High grad who said there have been days he took an extra 1,000 shots in the gym just to keep sharp. “You have to stay confident.
“My teammates and coaches helped me do that and I have a good support system at home, too. They knew I could do it and tonight that’s what happened.”
Another Sargent move that paid dividends was having Pickett cover the 6-foot-3 Lovejoy — who already had 26 points on the night — in the final minute.
With the Raiders leading 65-60 Lovejoy drove for a layup and Pickett blocked it.
Then with 9.1 seconds left — after Michael Cooper missed a free throw with WSU clinging to a 65-63 lead — Lovejoy ended up on the attack again and finally came streaking to the hoop for a layup with 1.0 left.
Pickett again rejected it.
Imariagbe ended up with the ball, was fouled and made one free throw with .5 of a second left to provide the final 66-63 margin.
That brought out the snowstorm of blue confetti which soon covered the floor and found an appropriate home decorating the mid-range Afro of Wright State guard TJ Burch, who led the team with 19 points and was named the MVP of the tournament.
He transferred in this season after spending his freshman year coming off the bench at Ball State. He was named the Horizon League’s Newcomer of the Year and the conference’s Defensive Player of the Year and Tuesday night some of the Detroit players credited him with taking over the game in the second half.
“I love this team. I love my coaches and I love my teammates,” he said. “I’ve gotten everything I have because of them.
“Just a big shout out to Wright State. I love it here. This is a dream come true.”
‘I’ll never forget this night’
Everyone was happy for Woods, who had now come full circle with the program.
“Logan’s been here step by step, day by day,” said fellow guard Solomon Callaghan. “He’s a four-year guy in the program and that’s so hard to find now in this NIL era. He just stayed with it and believed in the program.”
Associate head coach Dan Beré said Woods was actually with the team — he had committed to WSU and would graduate from high school later in the spring — when the Raiders gathered for Selection Sunday in 2022, the last time WSU made the NCAA Tournament.
That’s the year the Raiders beat Bryant in the First Four at UD Arena before falling to No. 1 seed Arizona by 17.
“It’s been a long road for Logan,” Beré said. “He came to our program because he wanted to win championships and now he has.”
While Woods was the longest tenured Raider, the team also featured several new faces this year, including the two freshmen, Pickett and Cooper, both Horizon League All Freshmen Team members.
They’re a rarity in today’s landscape of teams relying on older transfer portal players in this must-win-now world of NIL money and the need for a quick return on your expenditures.
Sargent did bring in four transfers: Burch, Alamutu, back-up guard Bryan Etumnu and 6-foot-7 starting guard Dominic Pangonis from Stephen F. Austin.
“This is the greatest accomplishment of my career,” said Pangonis, a sophomore from Canada. “You dream of these moments. They’re something you watch on TV. But experiencing them in person is so much better. It’s surreal.”
Pointing to the crush of people who filled the court — players’ families, WSU fans, some former Raiders players like Tanner Holden and Vaughn Duggins — he beamed: “I’m glad I get to experience this with all these people.”
Imariagbe felt the same way as he finally got his turn to go up the ladder.
He went part way up, then turned, scissors in hand, and posed so others could get his photo. Once at the rim, he turned to the cheering crowd again.
“I came back for a reason this year,” he said once he got both feet back on the court. “I thought something good was going to happen and it did.
“I’ll never forget this night. We were in the huddle when we were down and we were telling each other, ‘We’re going to do this! We’re going to win!’
“And that’s just what happened.”
A smile graced his lips. Confetti lay at his feet. And from his ear hung a piece of newly-snipped net.
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