One sequence showed the heart the Raiders will need over the final seven games if they hope to claim their fourth Horizon League regular-season crown in eight years under Nagy.
“The play of the game was somewhere in the middle of the second half. Al took a 3, and it rattled in and then came out,” Nagy said, referring to junior guard Alex Huibregtse.
“Brandon (Noel) chased it and fell down. And now it’s five-on-four going the other way. But we got a defensive stop.
“The players came to the huddle, and I’m like, ‘Hey, THAT’S how you win. It was a great shot. It didn’t go in. The big deal was how you guys got back and figured out a way to get a stop when it’s five-on-four.’
“It’s unusual for me to react that way. Thankfully, I did. And I think our team really got behind that, too. They came out of the huddle and said, ‘Let’s go!’”
The Raiders went on a 14-0 run, turning a 59-57 deficit into a 12-point lead on the way to an 85-78 win.
They’re 8-5 in the league, two games out of first, with a favorable schedule ahead: five of the last seven games at home.
“Coming off the game Thursday,” Nagy said, meaning an 88-77 home loss to Youngstown State, “it would have been easy for our players to be beat down and flat, and they did a great job.
“I think my staff did a really good job kind of pulling everybody together, including me, because I wasn’t in a great spot, either.”
Not that everything is peachy.
The Raiders had a sloppy 17 turnovers after committing a less-than-ideal 15, 15 and 13 in their previous three games.
They also gave up another 12 offensive rebounds after allowing hefty 60 in their previous four games. They only had 34 themselves in those five games, and that’s a trend that can’t continue.
But they may have had their best defensive effort against a quality opponent, hounding the HL preseason favorites to 40.9% shooting.
The goal is to hold foes under one point per possession. That’s been elusive for the Raiders, having done it just three times this season (including twice against non-Division-I opponents).
“We just can’t get under that. We’ve struggled with it all year,” Nagy said.
“Really, if we’d just taken better care of the ball — it’s been several games in a row with just too many turnovers. But, thankfully, we shot the ball well. And we passed it well.”
They had 21 assists — their ninth game this season with at least 20 assists.
That’s already more than in any previous year under Nagy. In his first three seasons, they had a combined six games with 20-plus assists.
Their 16.4 average is first in the league and 32nd in the nation.
They lead the country in field-goal shooting at 53.5% (Kansas is second at 51.5) and are fifth in points per game at 85.7.
The reason they’re only 13-11 overall is that they’re last in the HL and 344th nationally (out of 351 teams) in points allowed at 81.3 per game — even worse than Thursday’s foe, 0-24 Detroit Mercy, which is allowing 80.3 per game.
But Nagy said: “Our defense is close. It’s getting better. I think the guys are taking more pride in it. You just stay at it and keep after them until they listen.”
THURSDAY’S GAME
Detroit Mercy at Wright State, 7 p.m., ESPN+, 101.5, 1410
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