Wright State basketball: Blowout of Oakland keeps Raiders in league title picture

Credit: Joseph R. Craven

Credit: Joseph R. Craven

Wright State is going to need some help — maybe more than it can reasonably expect at this point — but its bid for a Horizon League regular-season title is still alive after a 96-75 road rout of first-place Oakland on Sunday.

The Raiders went on a 16-3 run in the first 5:44 of the second half — eight of them by Alex Huibregtse on a pair of 3′s and another jumper — to take a 53-41 lead, and they never looked back.

They led by as many as 26 while shooting 66.7% in the second half. They improved to 17-12 overall and moved into a tie for third in the league at 12-6.

They host Purdue Fort Wayne at 7 p.m. Wednesday and Northern Kentucky at 7 p.m. Saturday to close out the regular season.

“They hit some tough shots in the first half. We defended. Our defense was really good,” coach Scott Nagy said on his post-game radio show.

“We were down one, and our kids were discouraged. I said, ‘Hey, they hit tough shots. You live with that. Just keep defending like that.’”

The Grizzlies, who shot 53.6% while taking a one-point halftime lead, were 1 of 5 from the field with three turnovers in the first six minutes of the second half. They shot 42.2% from the field and had 15 turnovers.

They fell to 19-11 overall and 14-5 in the league. They finish the season at 6 p.m. Saturday against visiting Detroit Mercy (1-28, 1-17).

Youngstown State (21-9, 13-6) moved into second with a road win Sunday over Green Bay (17-12, 12-6).

Northern Kentucky (16-13, 11-7) is in fifth.

Even with the loss, the Grizzlies clinched at least a share of the regular-season crown. It’s their second title since joining the league in 2013-14.

“They whipped us last time. They just did, let’s face it. We wanted to get them back. They’d beaten us three in a row,” Nagy said.

“We came here this morning and shot around, and our kids were in a good frame of mind. I hardly said anything to them all day. They were ready to go.”

Huibregtse had 21 points and six assists, going 5 of 9 on 3′s and 8 of 12 overall. A.J. Braun had 14 of his 20 points in the first half, going 10 of 15 from the field.

Brandon Noel had 19 points and 15 rebounds, Tanner Holden 13 points and eight assists, and Trey Calvin 11 points.

The Raiders were 2 of 10 on 3′s in the first half after going 5 of 28 in the first game. But they found the range after halftime, finishing 9 of 19 overall.

And after reaching a two-year low by shooting 33.8% in a 74-60 loss in the first meeting, they shot 56.9% overall.

“The first game, in terms of our offense, was a little bit of an aberration,” Nagy said. “We just didn’t play well and didn’t shoot will. Today, we shot the ball. And when we play defense like that, you can see what it does for us offensively.”

WEDNESDAY’S GAME

Purdue Fort Wayne at Wright State, 7 p.m., ESPN+, 101.5, 1410

About the Author