CLEVELAND - Wright State guard Reggie Arceneaux became the first Raider in five years, and 29th in program history to score 1,000 career points during a 13-point effort Saturday in an 88-72 loss at Cleveland State.
Arceneaux’s milestone came with 2:48 left in the first half off a 3-pointer at the right point.
“I honestly don’t know how far away I was,” Arceneaux said. “It is a great accomplishment; a lot of people don’t get to reach that milestone. I think I have earned it.”
Arceneaux made his 85th start in a Wright State uniform. He has avoided significant injuries to cost him games, as he has played in 125 contests for WSU in his four years with the program.
Arceneaux has been a model of consistency as he has averaged between seven to nine points a game in all four seasons at WSU.
“I’m really happy for Reggie. He’s put in the time on his shooting. Certainly it goes to his longevity. It goes to how he walked in the door and played as a freshman, right away basically started and was handed the keys to the car as a freshman,” Wright State head coach Billy Donlon said.
Donlon, an alum of UNC-Wilmington, said he came just shy of 1,000 points in college.
“I’m happy for Reggie and I’m happy for his family. His family is unbelievable,” Donlon said. “I just really happy for him that he has that now for the rest of his life that he scored 1,000 points. They can’t ever take that one away from him.”
Lee’s free throws changes game
After Wright State dug out of a 13-point deficit to cut Cleveland State’s lead to six, and at one point four, Charlie Lee drew a foul at the top of the key from WSU’s Justin Mitchell, which resulted in three points for the Vikings.
The three free throws Lee allowed the Vikings to go on a 7-0 run and to go up by double figures for good. Lee finished with a season-high 27 points.
Donlon said the play was a turning point in Saturday’s game that Cleveland State went on to win.
“I’ll certainly go back and review the film and see what was there,” Donlon said about the foul. “But I mean he doesn’t miss free throws.”
Lee made all 12 free throw attempts.
Lee’s shot came from 5 feet from beyond the 3-point line. Had the foul not been called, WSU was ready for a fast-break opportunity the other way that would have cut the Vikings’ lead to four.
“The issue on the foul, why it’s such a big play, is that ball’s going to be ours and we’re going to get a transition layup to cut it to four,” Donlon said. “That’s a big shift on the road with seven to go. It’s one play. There’s a lot of other plays in the game. But I just feel like that’s two years in a row now he’s flopped on a shot.”
KG 15 shirts on display
During pregame warm-ups, the Raiders wore specially designed t-shirts that paid honor to senior guard Kendall Griffin who had his basketball career ended by a concussion on Jan. 28.
“We were going to something when we got back and the debate was, you weren’t going to put it on a uniform, he is still breathing and going to have a great life,” Donlon said. “We just felt like it was appropriate in ‘KG15,’ we were definitely going to do something.”
Thomasson doesn’t get the start
Donlon said the decision was made to give Grant Benzinger the start, as Benzinger is the Horizon League’s best 3-point shooter by percentage.
