Wright State basketball: Raiders building depth in early-season games

“Our top guys really didn’t play very well. Our bench saved us,” coach Scott Nagy said. “The four kids who played off the bench all played exceptional.”

After four starters played more than 43 minutes in the double-OT loss to Davidson, Nagy vowed to use his reserves more. And Brandon Noel had 13 points on 6-of-8 shooting in 28 minutes, Alex Huibregtse had 10 while going 4 of 7 from the field in 25 minutes, and Blake Sisley and Andrew Welage combined for 11 points in 18 minutes.

“It’s nice to see that even with Amari, Trey and Tim struggling a little bit, we can still win games,” Nagy said. “It was a bit unusual for us to beat Louisville and not have any of those three have great games. But it’s also encouraging that our bench can give us that kind of lift.”

Calvin did have 17 points, going 8 of 16 from the field, but he was coming off a 37-point performance against Davidson. Davis and Finke were a combined 4 of 18 from the floor for 12 points.

“I’m thankful we won. It’s no disrespect to Louisville, but we did not play well. And our players know it,” Nagy said.

“It’s an opportunity for us to be critical about some things we need to change, but it also says how good we can be if we can play well.”

Nagy said he would have gone to the back-ups in the first half even if his stalwarts weren’t having off days.

“We had a purpose in mind with that, making sure we got those guys good early minutes,” he said.

“We’re just so happy with all those guys. It’s hard to play nine — a lot depends on matchups — but it’s nice to know we can.”

NEW RAIDERS: The Raiders landed three players in the early-signing period, and Nagy said it’s his best recruiting class in seven years at the school.

He was particularly pleased with the commitment from DayJaun Anderson of Ponitz High School. The 6-foot-3 guard is only the second Dayton-area player to join the Raiders under Nagy, following sophomore center A.J. Braun of Fenwick.

“We’ve battled since we’ve come here” to get a foothold in the area, Nagy said. “If you look at who we recruited when we first came here to who we’re recruiting now, we’re starting to shrink that circle.

“Two are from Ohio and one from Michigan. We hadn’t pulled a kid from Illinois in a while, which is where we were first going. Because of the success of our program, we’ve been able to recruit closer to home.”

Along with Anderson, the Raiders signed Kaden Brown of Grand Rapids, Mich., and Solomon Callaghan of Wadsworth, Ohio.

Anderson averaged 19.5 points as a junior and was the Dayton Public School Player of the Year. The 6-0 Brown averaged 21.0 points and was named first-team all-state in Division 2. And the 6-2 Callaghan averaged 18.2 and is a two-time All-Ohioan.

Nagy praised them for their high character and pointed out that all three are straight-A students.

About Anderson, Nagy said: “Really athletic. Confident. Great shooter. Respectful.

“He was a sleeper this summer, and we saw him at team camp. I looked at (assistant Travis Trice) and said, ‘Who is this kid?’ We just loved him.

“He played on (AAU power) All-Ohio Red on the Nike circuit, so he gets overshadowed by some of those high, high major kids, but he can be a steal for us for sure.”

Brown: “He’s definitely one of the top point guards in Michigan. For us to pull a kid out of there like that — a great teammate, great leader, very talkative, very engaging — is really encouraging.”

Callaghan: “Multi-faceted guard. He can play the point, but he can also play the 2 and 3. He’s so strong. He’s got a great body on him. He’s the ultimate teammate. A great young man.”

After his commitment, Callaghan told the Medina Gazette that he and his family “built a really strong relationship with the coaching staff. That was one thing that set them apart. They poured a lot into me, and it was really great to get to know them.

“I also felt like I’ll fit in well with the players. I went on a visit there, and one of the most important things to me was fitting in with the guys.”

TRANSFER UPDATE: No one at Wright State, it seems, was miffed over the transfers of Tanner Holden and Grant Basile. Surprised maybe, but not upset.

As Tim Finke said before the season: “We wish them the best of luck. I’m excited to see them play. I think they’ll have good years.”

Well, so far, so good.

Holden didn’t miss a shot in his first game at Ohio State. He went 5 of 5 from the field, making his only 3-pointer, and 1 of 1 from the foul line for 12 points against Robert Morris. He had two points and five rebounds in the next outing against Charleston Southern.

Basile started his Power-5 career with a bang. He had 30 points, going 6 of 8 on 3′s, with 10 rebounds in Virginia Tech’s opener against Delaware State and is averaging 18 points and 6.7 rebounds in three games.

TUESDAY’S GAME

Bowling Green at Wright State, 7 p.m., 980