1/13/2022

MOON TOWNSHIP, PA – The Wright State men’s basketball team gutted out a shorthanded road victory Thursday night as the Raiders hit three free throws in the final 30 seconds to grab a 75-73 win at Robert Morris.
 
Wright State (9-7, 6-1 HL) won its seventh straight contest as they played without four individuals within the program’s tier one personnel due to COVID-19 protocols, as three Raiders finish in double digits and three players played all 40 minutes of game action.
 
The Raiders held Robert Morris (2-14, 0-7 HL) scoreless on seven straight possessions over the final three-plus minutes as they cut the deficit to one on a Grant Basile three-pointer with 2:28 remaining before hitting five of six free throws to close the night.
 
Basile finished with a game-high 23 points, including 15 in the second half, as he pulled down eight rebounds and added three blocks and a trio of assists. Tim Finke finished with 19 points while Tanner Holden filled his stat line with 18 points, a game-high nine rebounds and six assists. Basile, Finke and Keaton Norris, who added nine points of his own, played all 40 minutes, while Holden finished with 37 minutes and played the entire second half with three fouls.
 
CJ Wilbourn got the spot start, his fourth of the season, and played 29 minutes, chipping in four points and four rebounds, while Andy Neff had two points in 11 minutes of action and TJ Nagy added three-plus minutes to end the first half as Holden sat with his three fouls.
 
Wright State finished the night shooting 51 percent (27-of-53) while connecting on six three-pointers (6-of-16) as the Raiders were 15-of-17 at the free throw stripe (88 percent). Robert Morris also shot 51 percent from the floor (30-of-59) and hit 6-of-16 of their three-pointers while going 7-of-10 from the free throw stripe. The Raiders outrebounded RMU, 30-26, as they pulled down 23 defensive rebounds as Wright State passed out 14 assists as a group.
 
Kam Farris led four Robert Morris players in double figures with 20 points, while Michael Green III and Kahliel Spear each had 15 points and Enoch Cheeks added 11 points thanks to his basket at the buzzer.
 
Wright State wraps up the weekend with a Saturday night contest at Youngstown State. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. and fans can tune in on ESPN+ or on WONE 980 AM, where Chris Collins and Jim Brown will have the radio call.

COURTESY WSU ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS