Cole Darling led the Wright State men’s basketball team with 25 points en route to a 63-57 victory on the road against the Hofstra Pride.
Darling, playing with a less-than-perfect shoulder, shot eight for 11 from the field, grabbed nine rebounds and went a perfect 7-7 from the free-throw line.
Darling had to sit out WSU’s last game against VMI, and junior AJ Pacher called Darling’s return “huge” for the team.
“He (Cole) plays with a high motor for us,” Pacher said. “You rarely see Cole take a bad shot, and he is a great leader for us.”
The Raiders never trailed in the game. jumping out to a 12-2 lead and eventually stretching the lead to 14 points at the midway point of the first half. In the second half, Hofstra was able to cut the lead down to one, but the Raider defense stood firm improving the team’s record to 7-3.
“We kept our composure and stayed together as a team,” WSU freshman JT Yoho said. “It was good for us to play in a tight game like this. It will make us better in the future.”
WSU held the Pride to 36 percent from the field and limited the Hofstra offense to eight for 25 shooting in the second half. Hofstra, suffering from numerous players being arrested after allegedly stealing laptops in campus dorm rooms, fell to 3-7 on the season with the loss.
This road victory ends a long stretch of road games for the Raiders who have played seven of their first 10 games on the road. The Raiders now will play five of their next six games at the Nutter Center, starting with the Miami Redhawks Wednesday night.
“The Nutter Center is a tremendous place to play,” Pacher said. “It will be good to get some time back in the Nutter especially those first Horizon League games.”
Wednesday’s game vs. Miami will tipoff at 8:00 p.m. Students can receive two free tickets with their Wright1 Card. The game can also be viewed for free online at www.horizonleague.org.
