CLEVELAND - After Wright State lost its third game in a row last Saturday at Cleveland State, Raiders head coach Billy Donlon said he is not using the team’s results to measure the progress of his squad.
WSU fell to 11-13, 3-7, lost its six game out of seven and has fallen to seventh place in the nine-team Horizon League. The Raiders loss came at the hands of Cleveland State by an 88-72 decision.
“I don’t think about that,” Donlon said. “I move on to the next game. That’s my job. I don’t think about six of seven, seven of eight. If we’d won 11 in a row, I don’t think about that. I think about improvement from the last game.”
Conference play started out well for Wright State who won two of its first three. Since then, the Raiders lost their leading defender, Kendall Griffin, for the season, and their leading scorer, JT Yoho, for at least the next few weeks. Yoho’s injury could be season ending.
“The score’s going to say what it does, but it’s not a moral victory of anything in terms of that,” Donlon said. “It’s improving. Justin Mitchell has gotten much better just in the last three weeks. Mike Karena. Joe Thomasson played well tonight. Grant Benzinger has played pretty well these last couple of games. There’s a lot of positives.”
Thomasson agreed his squad has made progress.
“Like I said, defense, defense. We’re making improvements, we just have to stay consistent,” Thomasson said. “We can’t get too high, can’t get too low. We have to stay even keeled.”
Offense back on track
Wright State entered Saturday’s game against Cleveland State with the worst scoring output in league games. Despite losing Saturday, the Raiders scored 12 points above their conference scoring average. The performance was especially promising as the Raiders went up against the best scoring defense in the league.
For the first time in Horizon League play, WSU had five scorers in double figures. Thomasson led the way with 17 points.
I don’t have a problem with the offense,” Thomasson said. “I feel like we could score the ball with anybody. We just need to play defense. We have to pick up our intensity and our focus.”
LeCrone comments on Smith’s death
Legendary former North Carolina coach Dean Smith died last Saturday in his home in Chapel Hill, N.C. Current Horizon League Commission Jon LeCrone, a native of Vandalia, worked with Smith while LeCrone was an assistant commissioner with the Atlantic Coast Conference.
“All of us in the Horizon League were saddened to hear of coach Smith’s passing,” LeCrone said in a statement. “College sports and college basketball has lost a phenomenal teacher, a role model, and an iconic leader who helped change sport and society.
“Those of us fortunate enough to have been a part of the ACC family during coach Smith’s tenure were touched by his legacy on and off the court. Our sympathies go out to coach Smith’s family, and his extended families at the University of North Carolina and the ACC.”
Up next
Wright State hosts Illinois-Chicago Thursday evening for the first of two meetings this year versus the Flames. The two meetings are important for the Raiders who are looking to avoid travelling for the first round of the Horizon League tournament next month.
UIC is one game behind Wright State for seventh place in the conference.
