They held Kent State, which averaged 98.8 points in its first four games, to 62 points in regulation in the title game Sunday. Though they lost, 76-72, in OT, they pestered the Golden Flashes into 40.3% shooting, including 6 of 24 on 3’s.
“Our defense was great. This team can be elite defensively,” second-year coach Clint Sargent said.
The Raiders (2-3), who host Division-III Ohio Wesleyan at 7 p.m. Thursday, are giving up the fewest points in the Horizon League at 66 per game. Robert Morris is second-best at 71.
Their 33-point win over Radford was only their second victory by 30-plus points over a non-league D-I foe in the last six seasons. They beat Illinois State, 74-49, in the 2023 Gulf Coast Showcase.
“That’s as good as we’ve played in quite some time from start to finish, especially defensively,” Sargent said.
They Raiders would have hoisted the Tip-off trophy if not for late-game lapses, committing two turnovers and giving up the last five points in the final 2:19 of regulation.
“I’m incredibly encouraged. But I hate it for our fans and players and families because I know how desperately people want to win,” the coach said.
Restoring defense as a pillar of the program has been a two-year project — no, obsession — for Sargent, and the Raiders are making tangible progress.
Though it’s a small sample size, opponents are shooting only 41.4% from the field after hitting 46.0 last year and 47.4 in 2023-24 (Scott Nagy’s last year).
On 3’s, foes are shooting 26.7% after hitting 36.6 last season and 36.1 two years ago.
In defensive efficiency, the stat the coaches value most, they’re 145th nationally while giving up 1.008 points per possession compared to 330th last season (1.102) and 341st in 2023-24 (1.108).
“This program will break through. There’s just too many encouraging things for it not to happen. We’ve got to stay the course, let the losses hurt but not break you. And we forge on,” Sargent said.
But in the early-season whack-a-mole world of coaching, other issues have surfaced.
After out-rebounding Radford by 10, the Raiders were punished on the boards by Kent State, 46-32, allowing 17 on the offensive end.
They have a plus-1.6 rebound margin per game, but that includes the 52-26 thrashing they gave Division-III Franklin.
“We’ve just got to get better on the glass — something I didn’t expect to be an issue for us,” Sargent said.
“Kent State is one of the top offensive rebounding teams in the country every year, for sure, at our level, and we didn’t meet our goal. We gave them too many second-chance points. Once we clean that up, we’ve got a very good basketball team.”
ABOUT OWU: The Bishops, who are 2-2, were picked seventh in the North Coast Athletic Conference preseason poll, one spot ahead of Wittenberg. Denison is the favorite.
Jessee Battle, a 6-2 guard, leads the team with an 18.6 average.
They lost Henry Hinkle, the NCAC player of the year and a third-team All-American as a senior last season after averaging 19.6 points. The Bishops finished 15-12.
NEXT GAME
Who: Ohio Wesleyan at Wright State
When: 7 p.m. Thursday
Streaming: ESPN+
Radio: 1410-AM, 101.5-FM
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