Wright State men's basketball team defeated Milwaukee 84-82 in overtime to win their first Horizon League match-up of the season on Saturday, Jan. 2.
Senior guard Joe Thomasson led the Raiders with 21 points while sophomore guard Mark Alstork scored 17 with six in the overtime period.
Junior guards Matt Tiby and Akeem Springs led the Panthers as Tiby collected 23 points and nine rebounds and Springs collected 19 points and eight rebounds.
The Panthers led 12-7 after five minutes but allowed a 12-3 run by the Raiders over the next five to fall behind by four points.
With 7:31 remaining in the half Wright State built on their lead with an 8-2 run to gain an 11 point advantage with 6:09 remaining.
Freshman guard Mark Hughes hit a 3 pointer to put the Raiders up 41-25 with 2:21 remaining in the half but three free throws for Milwaukee sent the teams to the locker room at 41-28.
The Raiders continued to add to their lead as they gained their largest advantage of 17 points with 10:56 remaining after a 3 pointer by Hughes.
The Panthers responded a little over a minute later when a layup by Springs sparked a 17-3 run to tie the game at 69 with 3:52 remaining.
Wright State gained a 3 point advantage after a Thomasson 3 pointer with 2:52 remaining but freshman guard JayQuan McCloud responded for the Panthers with a 3 on the next possession.
A free throw by each team sent the game to overtime tied at 75.
In overtime, Alstork put the Raiders up four with four straight points in the first 2:18 after a pair of free throws and a layup.
A pair of free throws by Tiby, a 3 pointer by Arians and layup by McCloud tied the game at 82 with 1:39 remaining.
Alstork drove to the basket and converted on a lay-up with 1:16 remaining to put the Raiders up two for the game’s final score.
Hughes finished with 11 points for the Raiders as did senior center Michael Karena. Senior guard Biggie Minnis collected 10 points and five rebounds while senior guard JT Yoho collected nine points and nine rebounds.
Wright State (7-7, 1-0) will be back in action on Monday, Jan. 4 at Green Bay (8-5). Tip-off will be at 7 p.m.
