A healthy Wright State squad went to the nation’s capital with upset on its mind. But a first half 3-point explosion by Georgetown made easy work of the Raiders as WSU fell to the Hoyas 88-70 Wednesday evening.
Georgetown had a 50-31 halftime lead. Wright State tried to rally in the second half but the margin was too steep for the Raiders to overcome.
The Raiders fell to 1-1 on the season. WSU will play its second consecutive road contest at a Big East school Saturday against DePaul.
“We did not play like a team that has nine juniors and seniors on it,” Wright State coach Billy Donlon said.
The biggest statistical difference was field goal percentage. The Hoyas made 48.3 percent of their shots compared to 37.9 percent for the Raiders. Rebounds were even at 37.
Cole Darling returned from an ankle injury suffered in an exhibition contest on Nov. 1. Darling only played a handful of minutes in the first half and did not return in the second half.
Donlon said he watched Darling play for a few minutes and knew Darling returned too soon.
“He was going to try to give it a go and I watched him and it he just didn’t look right,” Donlon said.
Reggie Arceneaux returned from missing the season opener on Sunday. Arceneaux gave some energy for the Raiders in the second half scoring eight points and picking up four rebounds.
Georgetown’s D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera had a game-leading 25 points, 17 of which came in the first half. Markel Starks added 23 for the Hoyas.
Raider Kendall Griffin led WSU with 15 points. Teammates J.T. Yoho and and Miles Dixon each scored 14.
After scoring 21 points and shooting 9-for-9 Sunday, A.J. Pacher fouled out in Wednesday’s contest after only scoring two points.
“A.J. is a skilled big guy, we wanted him to put some pressure on (Georgetown center Josh) Smith,” Donlon said. “That didn’t happen tonight.”
The first half was rough for WSU as the Raiders were at one point trailing by 23. Georgetown hit eight 3-pointers in the first half.
After the Hoyas jumped out to a 24-point lead five minutes into the second half, the Raiders went on a 11-2 run to cut Georgetown’s lead to 15.
Smith-Rivera fired a 3-pointer to give G’Town an 18-point lead. Josh Smith added a layup seconds later.
Despite WSU outscoring Georgetown in the second half, Donlon did not see the second half as a positive for the Raiders.
“The second half was fools gold,” Donlon said. “We will see that tomorrow when we watch film.”
