Wright State can’t stop 3-point barrage, falls at Milwaukee

Credit: Joseph R. Craven

Credit: Joseph R. Craven

Milwaukee had been woeful from 3-point land going into the Wright State game Sunday, hitting 30.7% this season, which was ninth in the Horizon League and 286th in the country.

But opponents have been discovering their shooting touches against the Raiders so far this season. The Panthers went on a rampage from beyond the arc in a 91-83 home victory, starting 16 of 28 on 3′s and finishing 16 of 30.

They had been averaging eight 3′s per game.

They shot 67% from the field and scored 55 points in the second half.

“We saw it at Green Bay and we saw it here — the field-goal percentage we’re giving up. It doesn’t really matter what we do in terms of whether it’s zone or man,” coach Scott Nagy said on his post-game radio show.

“Like I told the players, there’ll be a point when they get tired of it. But there may NOT be. We’re watching the same pattern over and over when we have the lead in the second half, and we can’t score enough points because we just can’t get anyone stopped.”

The Raiders, who shot 55.6% from the field, were swept in their two games in Wisconsin for the first time since 2013-14.

Milwaukee, picked second in the HL preseason poll, improved to 7-7 overall and 2-1 in the conference. Wright State is 6-8, 1-2.

Purdue Fort Wayne has raced to the front of the standings with a 4-0 start.

Tanner Holden had 25 points, going 8 of 11 from the field and 9 of 11 on free throws, Trey Calvin had nine assists, but he finished with just 11 points, about 10 below his average.

Brandon Noel had a strong game with 16 points and 10 rebounds. And Alex Huibregtse had 15 points.

B.J. Freeman, a preseason first-team all-league pick, led Milwaukee with 23 points.

“This isn’t the end of the world when you go on the road and lose a couple games. The point is, I can’t have any babies in the locker room. If we’re going to pull that, we’re going to have to remove them. We need tough people now. ... We have a lot of tough games coming up,” Nagy said.

Wright State led, 47-38, after two free throws by Holden with 17:13 to go.

But Milwaukee hit three straight 3′s to tie the game with 15:55 left.

The Raiders trailed, 58-57, on a Holden dunk, but the Panthers went on a game-changing 13-2 run, taking a 71-59 lead on a Faizon Fields slam with 9:33 to go.

The Raiders cut the deficit to 71-66 on two free throws by Noel at 6:58.

But the deficit grew to 10 again when Freeman hit a 3 with 4:13 to go.

THURSDAY’S GAME

Cleveland State at Wright State, 7 p.m., ESPN2, 101.5, 1410

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