Disaster averted.
They built a 31-14 lead with 7:36 to go in the first half, held a 48-36 halftime edge and managed to keep a double-digit cushion most of the second half on the way to an 88-80 victory before 3,730 fans Saturday afternoon.
The Raiders are 13-8 overall and alone in first at 8-2.
“After Cleveland State, I thought we had 48 to 72 hours that were very championship-like in how they responded. I think the teams that can lose well, suffer well and learn from it — you can’t teeter-totter too far with overreacting, and you can’t under-react,” coach Clint Sargent said.
“That (stretch) was encouraging for me as a man, not just a coach, to see them step into responsibility when things don’t go well. We’re trying to do that and remove ourselves from the results, even though we know they’re very important. We’re trying to stay process-based.”
Facing NKU means encountering what is always one of the league’s most perplexing zones. It ranks up there with Oakland’s mix of alignments that usually causes furrowed foreheads in those trying to solve it.
The Raiders, though, have an ideal zone-busting offense — they’re shooting a league-high 49.4% from the field — and have gone a combined 3-0 against those foes.
“I think people would be very surprised, maybe not, but we don’t prep a ton for it. We educate them on, hey, Northern Kentucky is a defensive-minded program. That’s why they win,” Sargent said.
“In terms of details, there’s not much difference in what we’re asking our guys to do in man-to-man principles and zone principles — playing off two feet, catching with two hands, making sound decisions and trusting the fundamentals that you can take to any game.”
Credit: Bryant Billing
Credit: Bryant Billing
Fifth-year center Michael Imariagbe, returning to the starting lineup after recovering from a leg injury, had 24 points, his career high in two years at Wright State. He was 7 of 10 from the field and 10 of 12 on free throws while also nabbing 11 rebounds.
“That Cleveland State game, we didn’t come prepared,” he said. “They played harder than us and had a good game. We learned from that and applied the lessons to this game. We came out ready.”
Michael Cooper, still coming off the bench while returning from a thumb injury, had 21 points, hitting 9 of 10 free throws. He scored five in nine seconds — hitting a layup, making a backcourt steal and then drilling a 3, after which he blew a kiss to no one in particular.
TJ Burch had 16 points, four steals and three assists.
The Raiders shot 50% and went 5 of 12 from 3 and 29 of 36 on foul shots.
Dan Gherezgher had 30 points to lead the Norse (14-8. 6-5).
“We had 72 hours to mentally and physically come together (after the loss). That’s what brought us into this game strong and helped us win tonight,” Burch said.
Next game
Who: Wright State at Milwaukee
When: 8 p.m. Friday
Streaming: ESPN+
Radio: 1410-AM, 101.5-FM
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