DAYTON – A final second shot could not connect for the Wright State men’s basketball team on Sunday afternoon as the Raiders fell 75-73 to Oakland inside the Nutter Center.
Wright State (9-8, 2-4 Horizon) took a one-point lead on Amari Davis’ jumper with 33 seconds remaining, only to see Oakland (6-11, 4-2 Horizon) connect on a three-pointer from the corner with 12 seconds to play to give the visitors the two-point advantage. The Raiders had a final look, but Davis’ attempt from straight on at the free throw line bounced off iron and out in the closing moments.
Wright State jumped out of the gates early, using a 19-6 run after a game-opening three-pointer by Oakland to build the advantage, but the visitors chipped away, using five straight points late in the half to take the lead, closing the half on a 12-5 run to lead 44-40 at the break.
The Raiders scored six of the first eight second half points to pull back even at 46-all and the teams went back-and-forth from there, with the largest margin being a momentary six-point lead for Oakland with five minutes to play. Wright State used a 9-2 run over the next four and a half minutes to take the lead, culminating on Davis’ jumper with 33 to go, before the game-winner from Watts.
AJ Braun led the Raiders with 15 points, nine of which came in the second half, as he shot 70 percent overall and just missed out on a double-double with nine rebounds. Brandon Noel recorded his third double-double of the week, pulling down a game-high 15 rebounds to go along with 14 points, while Davis also finished with 13 points for Wright State.
Trey Calvin added eight points, four rebounds and a pair of steals, while Andrew Welage chipped in eight first half points. Tim Finke finished with seven points and five assists, while Alex Huibregtse had seven points of his own.
Wright State shot 50 percent overall in the opening 20 minutes on the way to 46 percent final shooting mark (31-67) while connecting on 7-of-18 three-point attempts (39 percent), six of which came in the first half. Oakland finished the afternoon with 31 made baskets of its own (31-62, 50 percent) and an 8-of-19 mark (42 percent) from three-point range. Neither team got to the free throw line often, with Wright State 4-of-9 (44 percent) and Oakland 5-5 (100 percent).
The Raiders finished with a 41-28 rebounding edge, including 16 offensive rebounds that led to 17 second chance points, but Wright State committed 13 turnovers (nine in the first half) that Oakland converted into 20 points. Behind Braun and Noel, Wright State recorded 44 of its points in the paint.
COURTESY WRIGHT STATE ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS
