Assistant Travis Trice caught it, though.
“He had SIXTEEN rebounds,” he said with a smile. “Don’t cheat him.”
Imariagbe was a fiend on the boards, getting seven on the offensive end to keep possessions alive.
That was the difference between Wright State hanging on for a 73-68 win or being tagged with a costly loss.
“The effort Michael Imariagbe played with on the glass calmed us down the entire night,” coach Clint Sargent said.
“All those empty possessions where we’re missing our first shot — to shoot 37% (in the second half) and miss 10 free throws (going 14 of 24), all the ugliness of that can mess with your teams’ confidence and psyche.”
The Raiders had 15 more rebounds than PFW — the third time this year they’ve had at least 15 more boards in a game against a D-I foe.
“The amount of winning plays he made and guys getting on the floor (for loose balls), ultimately, as a coach, that’s all you want to see. And you just live with the results,” Sargent said.
Imariagbe downplayed his production. Maybe it didn’t seem all that extraordinary because he had 21 for Houston Christian against Champion Christian two years ago.
But that was a nondescript regular-season game — not one in the thick of a conference race. The Raiders needed to win to stay alone at the top of the Horizon League standings.
“I really don’t worry too much about my stats. I’m just focused on winning,” he said.
“When you’re focused on winning, everything else falls into place.”
The 16 rebounds are the most for any player on a league team this season, and he put himself in elite company among former Raiders.
Brandon Noel had his career high of 16 five times, including twice last season against Miami and IU Indy.
A.J. Braun and Grant Basile each had 16 once.
Loudon Love had a career high of 20 against Detroit Mercy in 2019-20. He also had games with 19 and 17.
The program record is 22 by Thad Burton in 1997-98.
“It’s all about playing hard, exhausting myself,” Imariagbe said. “I feel like in the past, some games I’ll come out and try to preserve my energy. And it didn’t work out so well.
“I figured, I’ll just play hard from the jump.”
He’s averaging 12.0 points (second on the team) and 6.6 rebounds (first), but in his last six games, he’s posted 13.5 points and 10.2 rebounds per outing.
Toss aside a four-point, one-rebound effort at Green Bay when he was limited to 14 foul-plagued minutes, and he’s averaged 16 points and 12 boards in the other five games.
“Through taking accountability, being consistent with his work ethic, how he enters our facility every day — you’re starting to see that consistent production. He’s doing a ton for us,” Sargent said.
“He’s great defensively, good in ball-screen coverages. He’s physical. The amount of energy he has to give off every game is pretty significant. And I think he can still do more.”
Next game
Who: Detroit Mercy at Wright State
When: 7 p.m. Thursday
Streaming: ESPNU
Radio: 1410-AM, 101.5-FM
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