CLEVELAND – Despite a hot-shooting second half by the Raiders, Cleveland State’s Anton Grady and Charlie Lee combined for 49 points as the Vikings defeated the Raiders 88-72 in the Wolstein Center Saturday afternoon.
Wright State (11-13, 3-7) has dropped six of its last seven and three in a row. Cleveland State (15-10, 9-2) remains at the top of a four-team race for the Horizon League regular season crown.
Despite the result, Wright State head coach Billy Donlon has seen progress out of his squad.
“Give them a lot of credit for improving from the last game to this game,” Donlon said. “It didn’t show in the result, but for them as young people, give them credit. The winning and losing is one me. I can handle it.”
After Lee only scored one point versus the Raiders on Jan. 14, he responded to score a season-high 27 for the Vikings. Grady scored 22 on a 10-of-13 performance from the field.
Dayton Dunbar High School alum Andre Yates scored 10.
“They made good shots. Anton Grady hit big shots, made pro shots,” Wright State guard Joe Thomasson said. “Charlie Lee, he is 5-8, no taller, he made big-time shots like coach says, ‘Be clutch.’ He made senior plays.”
Wright State had five players in double figures for the first time since visiting Charleston Southern on Nov. 22. Leading the Raiders was Thomasson who had 17 points and six assists.
Raiders Michael Karena, Reggie Arceneaux and Grant Benzinger each had 13 points. Chrishawn Hopkins scored 10. Arceneaux needed just six points to join the 1,000-point club.
Cleveland State shot an astounding 61.2 percent from the field. The Raiders were finding the net often as well, shooting 54.2 percent.
The result was a far cry from the 55-50 contest played between the two teams less than a month ago.
“I wasn’t surprised at the way the game played out,” Thomasson said. “They’re a fast team, they like to push the ball. We have good guards so we’re going to blow it up the floor.”
After the teams started off tied at 10, the Vikings went on a 13-0 run early in the first half that wasn’t broken until Thomasson hit a 3. Cleveland State’s biggest lead in the first half was 15 as the Vikings.
Cleveland State held a 44-33 lead at halftime with three players already in double figures.
Wright State chipped away at Cleveland State’s lead in the second half. The Raiders made 12 of their first 16 shots in the second half. The Raiders were within four at several points midway through the second half.
While Wright State continued to shoot the ball well in the second half, the Raiders were dominated off the glass. WSU was outrebounded 13-1 in the final 17 minutes of the game by CSU. Cleveland State scored on 19 of its final 25 possessions.
“In the first half, we didn’t have belief. It was the same as Green Bay. The score was 10-10, and Cleveland State wasn’t playing well. We should have been ahead. Then you go in down 10 and you give up 10 points in the first half on just pure points off turnovers,” Donlon said. “Then when it became a game, when we battled in the second half and got it to six or five, their older players made the plays to win."
Wright State made 66.7 percent of its shots in the second half after shooting 41.7 percent in the first half.
“I think we put more pep on the ball,” Arceneaux said. “Guys were moving better. In the first five minutes of the game, we were stagnant, had a couple turnovers for 10 points I believe, and just handed them points.”
Wright State returns home to host UIC Thursday.
