VALPARAISO, Ind. - Wright State held a five-point lead in the second half against the No. 1 team in the Horizon League standings Saturday night. One simple coaching move changed the game.
Valpariaso finished the contest with a zone defense that stymied the Raiders’ offense in the second half as the Raiders finished the last 18 minutes shooting 27 percent from the field off of 6-of-22 on field goal attempts.
The zone nearly worked to perfection as Valpo went on to win Saturday’s contest 55-48.
“We didn’t execute in the zone very well,” Wright State head coach Billy Donlon said. “I thought, like when a team goes zone, our zone bothered them to be fair. If we make a few of those 3s early in the half, it is probably a different kind of game and that is growing pain with our team right now.”
While Valpo’s zone defense clearly challenged Wright State’s ability to score, the Raiders had their fair share of open looks.
“We were getting open looks, they just weren’t falling for us tonight,” WSU guard Chrishawn Hopkins said after he scored 11 points.
Walker held scoreless
Valpo freshman Tevonn Walker was held scoreless for the first time this season after he failed to convert on a pair of field goal attempts. He played 29 minutes in Saturday’s game.
“I think he is probably the best rookie in the league based on his play,” Donlon said. “He’ll get my vote (for Horizon League Freshman of the Year). He competes, but what I told our younger guys is, ‘Fellas, that this guy is a freshman, this guy is a sophomore, that guy is a junior, that guy is a freshman, let’s go measure up.’”
Walker scored 11 points when Valpo visited Wright State last month.
Press conference interrupted
During Donlon’s postgame press conference, legendary former Valpo head coach Homer Drew interrupted him. Drew offered some kind words for Donlon whose team is just 3-11 in Horizon League play.
“You just write down, ‘He can coach, that is all you have to put,’” Drew told members of the media. “You don’t have those injuries, you’re right at the top. What you did with the intensity they play with, and just the discipline and the togetherness, you can coach.”
Drew stepped down as head coach of Valpo in 2011 after 371 victories and seven NCAA Tournament appearances. He handed the reigns to his son Bryce, a former Valpo player known for hitting a shot in the NCAA Tournament versus Ole Miss in 1998.
Return visit?
Wright State could potentially return to Valpo in less than two weeks pending some results this week. Valpo is in line to win its second league title in three years.
The Crusaders have a critical matchup Friday versus Cleveland State, which will likely decide the champion of the league. Whoever wins the regular season title hosts the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds of the Horizon League Tournament. If the Raiders win their first-round matchup, they would then travel to whoever wins the regular season title and play either the No. 3 or No. 4 seed.
