Wright State men’s basketball team cruised by Green Bay at the Nutter Center on Saturday, Feb. 6 as the Raiders improved their record at home to 12-1 on the season.
“Before the season, coach told us that we don't lose in the Nutter," freshman guard Mark Hughes said. "Playing here is completely different and we definitely feed off of the fans energy."
Biggie Minnis, Michael Karena, Justin Mitchell, Grant Benzinger and Hughes each scored double-figures for the Raiders (15-10; 9-3 Horizon) who remain tied with Oakland for second place in the Horizon League.
“Everyone is really starting to mesh and accept their role on our team," Hughes said.
The Raiders jumped ahead 5-0 in the first 1:34 but the Phoenix retaliated with a 5-0 run of their own over the next 57 seconds.
Back-to-back lay-ups by Minnis with 11:55 remaining capped a 17-3 run for the Raiders over a 3:27 span as they led 22-8.
After a 4-0 run by Green Bay, WSU sparked a 17-7 run over the next 7:08 as Joe Thomasson found Mark Alstork on an alley-oop to put the Raiders up 39-19 with 4:12 remaining in the half. Phoenix forward Kenneth Lowe tipped the ball in with one second remaining in the half for a halftime score of 43-26.
“We got into a great rhythm," head coach Billy Donlon said. "We took command of the game in the first 10 minutes of the half."
Phoenix guard Carrington Love made a lay-up with 16:43 remaining to complete a 10-5 run by the Phoenix before the Raiders went on a 7-0 run over the next 1:10 for a 55-36 lead.
Green Bay pushed the deficit to 15 twice in the next 2:50 before cutting the deficit to 10 with seven minutes remaining.
Benzinger was scoreless until the 6:06 mark in the second half when he sank his first of four three-pointers during a 2:50 span as he gave the Raiders a 77-57 lead with 3:26 remaining.
Minnis finished with a team-high 13 points for WSU while Love finished with a game-high 17 for Green Bay.
"We defended our home court," Donlon said. "Now we have to get on the road for a very good UIC team that plays well at home."
With six games remaining in the regular season, Wright State will continue play as they travel to UIC and Valparaiso next week before coming home for their final home-stand. The Raiders take on the Flames (3-18; 1-9 Horizon) at the UIC Pavilion on Thursday, Feb. 11 at 8 p.m.
