Without two of its leading three forwards, Wright State employed a full-court press to try to counter the best shooting squad in the Horizon League. For stretches of Saturday’s game, the press worked.
But Valparaiso’s physical ability won out as the Crusaders topped the Raiders 66-56 in front of a season-high crowd of 7,664 in the Nutter Center.
The Raiders face a three-game road trip after losing back-to-back games at homes against a pair of teams among the top teams in the conference. The Raiders are 2-3 in Horizon League; their worst five-game start to league play since 2009.
After Wright State head coach Billy Donlon learned Thursday night that JT Yoho would miss Saturday’s game with a knee injury, Donlon summoned his team back to practice.
“If we don’t press them, they beat us by 30,” Donlon said. “We’re not going to beat them in the half-court, we had to get underneath them. As soon as I got the news on JT on Thursday afternoon, I got the news after practice, I brought the guys back at 9 that night after their classes.”
The decision was made in an effort to stay in the hunt for a spot at the top of the Horizon League standings. Donlon said the press wore both teams out by the second half.
“They were tired, I look at (Valpo’s) faces and body language and they were tired,” Donlon said. “Does it impact our guys? I am sure, but they’re tired, you’re tired. I thought there was a stretch where they out-toughed us.”
Wright State’s only player in double figures was Reggie Arceneaux who scored 10. He is 30 points away from scoring his 1,000th career point.
Valpo’s leading scorer was Vashil Fernandez with 14 points. Valpo 6-9 forward Alec Peters was held seven points below his season average of 18 points by WSU’s 6-foot-4 guard Kendall Griffin. Valpo guards Vevonn and Darien Walker were also in double figures for the Crusaders.
Griffin set his career high with three blocks and tied his career high with three steals.
Valpo led by as many as 11 in the first half as the Crusaders led 24-13 with seven minutes left in the first half. After Valpo led 29-20 at the media timeout with 3:37 remaining in the first half, Wright State closed the first half on a 7-0 run.
“The first 10 or 12 minutes of the game, our guys are trying to figure out how to play against their size,” Donlon said about Valpo who had two starters who stand over 6-foot-9 score in double figures.
The Raiders had a couple of huge blocked shots in the final minutes of the first half.
“It was very tough (to comeback) because you still have to play both sides of the ball,” Arceneaux said. “It gets exhausting. When you make a basket, it gets easier to get into your press.”
Wright State continued its run in the second half and led 32-30 to make it a 12-1 run.
“I thought they got fatigued and we got into a better rhythm,” Donlon said about WSU’s run. “We’re a better team when the ball moves quicker with rapid ball movement. We’re not as good when guys hold it and dribble it and don’t get us in the flow.”
Valpo broke the run and a stretch of eight minutes without a basket when Fernandez had a second-chance dunk. His dunk was two of 18 points Valpo scored off 17 offensive boards. WSU has allowed its opponents to grab at least 10 offensive boards in all five Horizon League contests this season.
The Raiders were dominated off the glass by a 46-25 margin.
Neither team had a lead of more than four in the first 15 minutes of the second half as the teams traded blows in a physical contest. Valpo took a 10-point lead off of a 9-0 run that was not snapped until Grant Benzinger’s 3-pointer with 2:36 left.
“They out-toughed us the final three minutes at the right time,” Arceneaux said.
The Raiders begin their three-game road trip Tuesday at Milwaukee.
