By Marisol Nicholson
1 25 2024
DAYTON – The Wright State men’s basketball team hits the road for the first of two road contests this week when the Raiders visit Cleveland State on Thursday night. The Raiders took the first meeting of the season back at the Nutter Center three weeks ago. Thursday’s game is set for a 7 p.m. start and fans can follow the action several ways – via live stats, by watching on ESPN+ or by tuning in to the new home for Raider Basketball 101.5 HANK FM and WING 1410 AM. Chris Collins and Justin Kinner will have all the play-by-play on the radio feed.
Fans can tune into 101.5 HANK FM live over the air in the Dayton metro area, as well stream the station live nationwide through a variety of free streaming apps. The iHeartRadio app, the TuneIn Radio app and the Audacy app are all FREE and each carry 101.5 HANK FM. Just search “101.5 HANK FM” on any of the three apps for Raider Basketball.
THURSDAY: WATCH ON ESPN+ | FOLLOW LIVE STATS | LISTEN ON 101.5 HANK FM | GAME NOTES
LAST TIME OUT
Wright State hit its first eight second half shots and outscored visiting Milwaukee by 15 points in the second half as the Raiders grabbed a 95-81 home victory. Brandon Noel finished with a game-high 23 points to lead five Raiders in double digits as he added five rebounds, two assists and a steal to his third 20-plus point performance of the season. Tanner Holden was 9-for-12 from the floor on the way to 20 points of his own, also grabbing five rebounds to go along with four assists and a pair of steals. Trey Calvin passed out eight assists and finished with 18 points, while Alex Huibregtse added 14 points and AJ Braun notched 13 points and three blocks.
A WIN WOULD. . .
A win would be Wright State’s first victory in Cleveland since an 81-74 overtime win in February 2020. The Raiders did not play in Cleveland during the COVID-altered 2020-21 season and have lost the last two true road games, however Wright State has a neutral site win over CSU in the 2022 Horizon League Tournament.
THE VIKING AGE
Cleveland State is 12-8 overall this season with an 5-4 HL mark. The Vikings have won all 10 home games this year and their last 18 home games dating back to last season. Cleveland State is averaging 81.0 points this season in the 10 home games, with a 72.5 points per game average on the road. In the first meeting on January 4, the Raiders scored 13 of the first 15 points and never trailed on the way to an 82-70 home win. Brandon Noel finished with a game-best 24 points as Trey Calvin notched 20 points. AJ Braun added 16 points, as he and Noel played a large role in the Raiders’ 48 paint points in the win.
BELIEVE-LAND
– Tristan Enaruna leads the Cleveland State offense with a 17.6 points/game average, one of three players averaging double digits scoring. Enarunas 6.7 rebounds/game also leads the CSU roster.
– Thursday’s game against Wright State is the middle game of a three-game home stretch for Cleveland State, who will play five of its final 11 contests on the road.
FAMILIAR FOES
Wright State has won 13 of the last 20 contests in the series overall, which is the longest series all-time in Raider history. The Raiders and Vikings have met 83 times previously, with Wright State coming away with 44 wins. The first-ever meeting came Feb. 12, 1972, a Cleveland State 72-62 win in Cleveland. The first matchup in Dayton came Jan. 21, 1974, a 69-45 Raider win (third meeting overall).
NATIONALLY SPEAKING. . .
Wright State currently leads the nation with its 53.5 percent overall season shooting percentage. The Raiders’ Effective FG Percentage (58.7 percent) is No. 3 and the Scoring Offense (85.3) is No. 13. Individually, Trey Calvin is No. 13 nationally with 138 Field Goals made, while No. 43 nationally with 19.2 points per game scoring average. He is No. 18 with his 91.1 percent Free Throw Percentage. Calvin’s 365 total points are No. 34, while Tanner Holden (342 total points) is No. 68. Holden’s 130 Field Goals made is No. 35 nationally.
NOEL NOEL
Brandon Noel has five double-doubles this season, including four against Horizon League opponents, and has double digit scoring outputs in six of the last seven games with 10-plus points in 13 of the last 15 games overall. Noel finished with 11 double-doubles a season ago, including nine double-doubles after the calendar flipped to January.
HORIZON LEAGUE HOLDEN
Tanner Holden is third in the Horizon League with his 19.3 points/game average in HL-only contests entering the week, while his 61.9 percent overall shooting perentage is behind only to teammates AJ Braun (71.4%) and Brandon Noel (62.8%) Holden’s 7.0 rebounds/game in HL action is tied for sixth.
SCORING THE ROCK
Trey Calvin has scored in double digits in every game in 2023-24 and 22 straight contests going back to last season. Calvin has been held to less than 10 points only five times since scoring 18 points on Feb. 26, 2022 and has only 11 total single-digit scoring games since the start of 2021-22. Calvin has 33 performances of 20-plus points in the same time span.
COURTESY WRIGHT STATE ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS
