Sophomore guard Grant Benzinger was on fire from the three-point line as he sank five of eight attempts while Wright State men’s basketball team defeated Cleveland State (5-13; 0-5) by a score of 70-53 on Thursday, Jan. 14.
“It felt good to finally hit some shots,” Benzinger said. “I’ve got to credit my teammates on that because I’ve been shooting it well in practice and they’ve been encouraging me to take my shots.”
Benzinger led the Raiders with 17 points followed by senior center Michael Karena with 16 and sophomore guard Mark Alstork with 13.
“We haven’t reached our peak yet and we’re hungry and determined to reach our peak,” senior forward Joe Thomasson said.
Thomasson dished out six assists along with six points while fellow senior JT Yoho scored 11 after making three of five 3 point attempts.
The Raiders led 10-7 before senior guard Biggie Minnis scored four straight points with a fast break dunk to put them up 14-7 with 12:28 to go in the half. The Vikings battled back with a 5-0 run to cut the deficit to two before Alstork drained a three to end a Raiders scoring drought of 2:32.
Benzinger drained a 3 pointer followed by a Karena lay-up and Minnis jumper with 4:48 remaining in the half to give WSU a 32-20 lead. Andre Yates sank a jumper with 10 seconds remaining to cut the deficit to seven but Benzinger drained an off-balance 3 pointer at the buzzer to send the teams into the locker rooms at 42-32.
"We want him (Benzinger) to shoot. That's his role on the team, he's a specialist," Thomasson said. "In order for us to be successful, he needs to do his job and he understands that."
The Vikings cut the deficit to eight after a jumper by Demonte Flannigan and a lay-up by Jibri Blount with 13:46 remaining.
The Raiders battled back with a pair of three pointers by Yoho then Benzinger. Minnis sank a free throw to put the Raiders up 15 with 11:27 remaining.
Jump shots by Yates and Kenny Carpenter made the score 57-47 with 9:34 remaining but Wright State fired back with 12-2 run in the next 7:36 to gain a 21 point advantage.
“We’re starting to trust everybody and the system,” Benzinger said. “We’re flying around the court on defense and that’s what we care about. To limit them as much as we can cause some nights the offense wont be there.”
Wright State (9-8-; 3-1) has won six out of their last seven games and will be back in action at the Nutter Center on Saturday, Jan. 16 as they host Youngstown State (7-10; 2-2) in game two of a five game home stand. Tip-off will be at 7 p.m.
