Wright State men’s basketball team hung with the No. 2 ranked Kentucky Wildcats in their 78-63 loss at Rupp Arena on Friday, Nov. 20.
“We were not very good and it was Wright State’s game plan,” Wildcats head coach John Calipari said.
“Kentucky is very good,” Raiders head coach Billy Donlon said. “I’m proud of our guys to come out here with that pressure and have 12 turnovers, it’s terrific. Coach Calipari is as good as it gets and it’s an honor to play against his team.”
Sophomore guard Grant Benzinger led the Raiders with 19 points with three 3 pointers followed by senior forward JT Yoho with 13.
“You don’t feel good about yourself because you lost,” Benzinger said. “There’s a lot to take away from this.”
After the first three minutes the Raiders found themselves down 5-0 until Yoho got them on the board with a mid-range jump shot.
Over the next 3:14 the Wildcats went on an 8-2 run to take a 13-6 lead before the Raiders responded with four straight points to cut the deficit to three with 12:56 remaining in the half.
The Wildcats responded with six straight points to extend the lead to nine before sophomore guard Mark Alstork ended their run with a 3 point basket with seven minutes remaining.
Over the next 3:15, the Wildcats gained their largest lead of the half after an Isaiah Briscoe lay-up made the score 35-22 with 2:44 to go. Kentucky would take the 13 point advantage with them into the locker room at half time.
The Raiders shot 31 percent in the first half compared to 59 percent by Kentucky who only missed 12 field goals with 24 points in the paint compared to just six for the Raiders.
The second half began with a charge taken by Benzinger who gave the Raiders eight points in the first 10 minutes as they cut the deficit to 12.
Senior center Michael Karena fouled out for the Raiders just before the 10 minute mark and Thomasson joined him on the bench 1:30 later after being called for a technical foul and then committing an offensive charge.
Kentucky went to the free throw line 37 times and made 26 of them while shooting 53.2 percent from the floor.
“We’ve got to do a better job not putting our hands on them, that was the difference,” Benzinger said.
The Raiders hung with the Wildcats in the second half as they scored 37 points compared to Kentucky’s 39.
“It gave us confidence in the sense of we’re right there. We just didn’t hit the shots that we needed to hit and get the stops that we needed to get.”
The Wildcats had four players score in double-digits. Eulis led all scorers with a career high 21 points followed by, Briscoe with 15 and Labissiere and Murray each with 13.
The Raiders (1-3) will look to bounce back at the Nutter Center on Tuesday, Nov. 24 as they host Mount St. Joseph (1-1) at 7 p.m. The game will be available on ESPN3.
