Wright State men’s basketball team turned a slow start into a blowout, 68-50 win against Division III Albion College on Tuesday, Dec. 1.
“We did our job—it was very similar to last week. We were supposed to win the game,” head coach Billy Donlon said. “Give Albion credit. They made some tough shots, we didn’t (in the first half). We didn’t make good offensive decisions at times so the half time score was what it was.”
After being tied 5-5, Wright State went on a 13-2 run capped by a layup by senior guard Biggie Minnis.
The Raiders led by as many as 15 in the first half before Albion sharp-shooter Jibreel Hussein knocked down a three to help close the Raiders lead to 34-22.
Points were easy to come by but didn’t come without some ball-control issues by the Raiders. Wright State committed nine first-half turnovers.
Wright State started the second half much like they ended the first, going on an 8-2 run, four of which came from sophomore guard Mark Alstort. Nearly three scoreless minutes by both teams passed before a jumper by Albion’s Jordan Herron made it 46-22 with 15:46 remaining.
Albion would chip away at the Raiders lead, getting it down to 14 points with 11:23 remaining, but the Raiders used a 10-0 run to remove any doubt of the outcome for the Raiders.
The Raiders dominated Albion in all facets, with a 46-21 points-in-the-paint advantage, along with 36-21 bench point advantage, 17 of which coming from senior center Michael Karena and 10 from Minnis in his first game as a Raider.
“My first game back, I wanted to be a leader on the floor,” Minnis said. “I just wanted to add to the team and make sure we got a win.”
“Since the game (against George Mason) I’ve been working on getting my footwork right, just keeping composure. I though this would be a good game for me to work on [those things],” center Michael Karena said.
Wright State (3-4) will face Georgia State Friday, Dec. 4 at 7:30 p.m. on the back end of a double-header at the Nutter Center.
