By Marisol Nicholson

1/10/2024

BOX SCORE

https://wsuraiders.com/boxscore.aspx?path=mbball&id=9631

MOON TOWNSHIP, PA – The Wright State men’s basketball team came out on fire Wednesday night, connecting on its first nine baskets of the game on the way to a 101-76 victory at Robert Morris in Horizon League action.

The win marked the second straight game the Raiders have eclipsed the 100-point mark, something the program has not done since January 23 and 25, 1993 – a season that saw them reach 100-plus points seven times overall.

Wright State (9-8, 4-2 Horizon) has won a season-best three straight games and now turns its attention to a Friday night nationally televised contest at Youngstown State, set for a 9 p.m. tipoff on ESPN2. Youngstown State is now 12-5 (4-2 HL) after its Wednesday win over Purdue Fort Wayne at home.

Wednesday, the Raiders raced out to a 23-6 lead less than five minutes into the contest behind that 9-of-9 shooting start while defensively holding Robert Morris (5-12, 1-5 Horizon) to a 2-of-7 start with three turnovers as Wright State never looked back. After its first miss of the night, Wright State connected on its next six consecutive shots and led by as many as 24 points twice in the first half before setting for a 21-point, 58-37 lead at the break.

Robert Morris made one faint push midway through the second half, cutting the margin to 15 points with 6:51 to play, the Raiders responded with the next six points and 11 of 15 points overall in the following three-minute stretch to push the margin back to 20-plus points.

Wright State finished the night shooting 61 percent overall (37-of-61) after connecting at a 72 percent clip in the opening 20 minutes. The Raiders passed out a season-best 27 assists on the 37 made baskets while their 12 three-pointers were also their most in a game this season.

Tanner Holden led four Raiders in double figures with a season-high 29 points on 9-of-13 shooting from the floor to go along with a 10-of-11 mark from the free throw stripe. Holden filled his stat line with six rebounds, five assists, five steals and a block in just 29 minutes of action.

AJ Braun and Brandon Noel each finished with 17 points as the pair combined to go 15-of-21 from the floor, with Noel notching his fifth double-double of the year with a game-high 12 rebounds to go along with his scoring production. Trey Calvin was 5-of-9 from the floor with four three-pointers on the way to his 14 points, adding five assists, while Alex Huibregtse had eight points and seven assists. Drey Carter chipped in eight points off the bench as well.

The Raiders grabbed 29 of their 35 total rebounds on the defensive glass as RMU finished the night shooting 37 percent (26-of-70) overall and 39 percent (11-of-28) from three-point range. Wright State tallied 42 points inside the paint while adding 18 points thanks to 11 RMU turnovers.

Stephaun Walker led three Robert Morris players in double figures with 18 points, while his eight rebounds were also a team-high in the loss.

COURTESY WRIGHT STATE ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS