12/18/2021

DAYTON – The Wright State men’s basketball team turned in one of its best two-way stretches of the season during Saturday’s second half, going on a 23-2 run to grab control on the way to a 72-63 home victory over Tennessee Tech inside the Nutter Center.
 
Down six with just over 10 minutes to go, a Grant Basile layup started a run of 12 straight Wright State (3-7) points before the stretch extended out to the 23-2 run over the next seven minutes that saw the Raiders go 8-for-10 from the floor with a trio of three-pointers while limiting Tennessee Tech (3-9) to a 1-for-11 shooting mark while also forcing a pair of steals.
 
The stretch flipped the tide from the Raiders being down six to going up 15 points, with Wright State withstanding a late run from the visitors in the closing minutes as Trey Calvin and Tanner Holden combined to hit all four free throws over the final 69 seconds to secure the victory.
 
Holden finished with a team-leading 22 points for the Raiders, 16 of which came in the second half, while filling his stat line with six rebounds, three assists and two steals to go along with his 7-for-9 mark from the floor. He was a perfect 8-of-8 from the free throw stripe as well. Calvin also saw the majority of his baskets in the second half, scoring 12 of his 17 points over the final 20 minutes as he connected on a game-high three three-pointers and was also perfect from the free throw line at 4-of-4.
 
Grant Basile turned in the afternoon’s lone double-double, finishing with 14 points and 12 rebounds, while his four assists were also a game-high and matched his career-best. Eight Raiders contributed to the scoring column overall, with Keaton Norris adding seven points off a pair of three-pointers and James Manns chipping in five points in a season-high 11 minutes off the bench.
 
Wright State finished the afternoon shooting 48 percent (24-for-50) from the floor overall while connecting on seven of its 20 three-point attempts. The Raiders were 17-of-22 (77 percent) from the free throw stripe, including hitting 12 of their 13 second half attempts. Defensively, Wright State held Tennessee Tech to 10 percent shooting (27-for-67) while the visitors went to the free throw line just five times. The Raiders pulled down 32 rebounds, all but one of which game on the defensive glass, while their five steals and 13 forced turnovers resulted in 23 points.
 
Tennessee Tech had a pair of double-digit scorers, led by Kenny White Jr.’s game-high 24 points off the bench, while Mamoudou Diarra had 10 points in the loss.
 
Wright State heads on the road for its final non-conference matchup of the season on Tuesday night as the Raiders travel south to take on North Carolina State. The Raiders return home to the Nutter Center for four straight Horizon League contests through the start of the new calendar year, beginning December 30 against Milwaukee. Green Bay (Jan. 1), UIC (Jan. 6) and IUPUI (Jan. 8) are also part of the upcoming home stretch.

COURTESY WRIGHT STATE ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS