2/4/2022

DAYTON – The Wright State men’s basketball team went on a 14-point run late in the first half Friday night and never looked back, downing visiting Detroit Mercy 90-59 inside the Nutter Center as five Raiders finished in double-figures.
 
Wright State (13-10, 10-4 Horizon) tallied the 14 straight points over a four-and-a-half-minute stretch behind five points each from Trey Calvin and Andrew Welage during the run as the Raiders closed the first half on an 18-5 run overall to take a 42-25 advantage into the locker room over Detroit Mercy (8-11, 5-4 Horizon). Wright State scored four of the first six points to open the second half and the outcome was never in doubt.
 
Grant Basile scored 14 of his game-high 29 points in the first half and finished the night shooting 12-of-15 from the floor with a 5-of-6 mark from the free throw line. He added a game-best eight rebounds as he became the 22nd member of Wright State’s 500 rebound club. Tanner Holden finished with 15 points, 11 of which came over the final 20 minutes as he added five rebounds and three assists.
 
AJ Braun, Calvin and Welage all finished with 11 points as both Braun and Welage tallied eight points in the first half, while Calvin passed out a game-high seven assists.
 
Wright State shot 58 percent from the field (34-for-59) while holding Detroit Mercy to just 34 percent (20-of-59). The Raiders hit seven of their 15 three-point attempts (47 percent) as the visitors connected on only eight of 29 attempts (28 percent).
 
Spearheaded by four players with at least five rebounds, the Raiders finished with a 40-29 edge on the boards, including pulling down 30 defensive rebounds. Wright State turned 13 Detroit Mercy turnovers into 15 points off those takeaways, while the hosts had a 21-2 advantage in scoring production off the bench.
 
D.J. Harvey led Detroit Mercy with 20 points while Madut Akec added 11 points. Antoine Davis was the third Detroit Mercy player in double figures, but Wright State held him to a season-low 15 points after coming into the night as the nation’s leader with a 24.0 points per game average.
 
Wright State now has a quick turnaround and will take on Oakland, who is now 16-6 overall with a 9-2 Horizon League mark after falling in overtime down at Northern Kentucky Friday night. Saturday’s meeting is set for a 7 p.m. tipoff from the Nutter Center.

COURTESY WSU ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS