12/10/2022

BOWLING GREEN, KY – Trey Calvin finished with 20 points and AJ Braun notched the first double-double of his career with a 13-point, 10-rebound effort, but the Wright State men’s basketball team fell 64-60 at Western Kentucky on Saturday night.
 
Wright State (5-5) led by two at the break and the score seesawed back and forth throughout the second half. Tied at 53 with 6:27 to play, Western Kentucky (8-1) and the Raiders combined to go just 7-of-20 from the floor down the stretch but the hosts connected on five of six free throws, the last two bringing the score to 64-60, before missing two final free throws in the closing seconds.
 
Down five with 1:16 remaining, Wright State sandwiched a Brandon Noel layup and an Amari Davis three-pointer between a Western Kentucky jumper to trail by two with 17 seconds to play. Dayvion McKnight hit both free throws to put the hosts back up four and seal the game with five seconds to go.
 
A single digit game throughout, the Raiders largest lead was five, coming in the opening minutes of the second half at 32-27, while Western Kentucky’s largest advantage was seven points (19-12) at the 7:31 mark of the first 20 minutes. Each side had a 7-0 scoring run as the contest featured seven tied scores and 11 lead changes.
 
Calvin scored 12 of his 20 points in the first half as he finished the night shooting 10-of-21 from the floor, adding five rebounds and two assists as he reached the 20-point mark for the third time this season. Braun also got off to a hot start in the opening 20 minutes, tallying six points and six rebounds as he finished an efficient 6-of-8 shooting and pulled down five rebounds on both the offensive and defensive glass. Davis was the final Raider in double figures, finishing with 11 points, as he added six rebounds and three steals, while Noel added seven points, all in the final 20 minutes.
 
As a group, Wright State finished the night shooting 40 percent from the floor (27-of-67), while Western Kentucky connected at 44 percent (26-of-59) as both sides hit only three three-pointers (Wright State 3-16; WKU 3-18). The Raiders outrebounded the Hilltoppers 38-35, including pulling down 27 rebounds on the defensive glass.
 
McKnight led all scorers with 32 points for Western Kentucky, who also saw Emmanuel Akot finish in double figures with 12 points.
 
Wright State remains on the road, heading to northwest Ohio for a visit to take on Akron on Wednesday night. That contest is set for a 7 p.m. tipoff and can be seen on ESPN+.

COURTESY WRIGHT STATE ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS