Raiders make it 4 in a row on 5-game homestand by routing Cleveland State, 87-61
GAME RECAP WRITTEN BY & COURTESY OF WRIGHT STATE ATHLETICS
Bill Wampler
The Wright State men’s basketball team won its fifth straight and stayed in a tie for first place with Northern Kentucky as the Raiders defeated Cleveland State 87-61 Thursday night at WSU’s Nutter Center. NKU won at home over Youngstown State Thursday 76-69. YSU will come to the Nutter Center for a matchup Saturday afternoon at 3:00 PM
The Raiders were led by five players in double-figure scoring: Bill Wampler 16, Parker Ernsthausen a season-high 14, Loudon Love 13, Alan Vest and Malachi Smith 11 each. Mark Hughes finished with nine points while Cole Gentryhad eight points, seven rebounds and seven assists. The Raiders shot 52.5% from the field with 11 three pointers, and outrebounded the Vikings 34-29. The 11 threes were the most for WSU since their game at Oakland on Jan. 5. After shooting over 51% in the first half, the Raiders held CSU to just 31% from the field in the second half.
Wright State tied its season-low with eight turnovers in the game while collecting 22 points from a dozen CSU miscues. The WSU bench accounted for 32 points while the Raiders scored 36 points in the paint.
First Half
WSU took the tip-off but CSU scored first a minute into the game. The half went back and forth until the Raiders ended the half on a 15-9 run, heading to the locker room ahead 43-38. Wampler led the way with 11 points with Love right behind with nine as Smith came off the bench for seven. WSU shot 57% with CSU at 52% with the Raiders up 15-11 on the boards. WSU had 20 points in the paint.
Second Half
WSU’s lead grew to 51-42 on a layup by Ernsthausen, off a steal and assist from Gentry. Wright State’s lead went to 12 at 58-46 by the 13-minute mark. At the eight-minute timeout with the green and gold up 66-49, CSU was held scoreless for 6:20. WSU went up by 23 on back-to-back threes from Hughes with under four minutes to go at 80-57. The Raiders stretched the score to 87-61 to end the game. Ernsthausen had nine points as the defense held CSU to just 23 points on eight field goals and zero threes, forcing eight turnovers.
Nagy Says
“They shot it real well in the first half, and we were lucky to be up by five. We are shooting the ball better than earlier in the season, and that will open things up for Loudon. Parker had tip-ins, and he is playing great ball right now. It’s the other things that people don’t see in the boxscore. His communications and his leadership have been phenomenal. When things aren’t going well, he’s the one positive guy we have.”
Tickets
For ticket information, click here or call 937-775-4934.
