With 15 seconds left in the ball game, on the road and with the ball, junior guard Mark Alstork responded to a potential Cleveland State game winning jump shot with two clutch free throws to force the first of two overtimes in Wright State’s 74-68 win against Cleveland State.
Wright State (19-9; HL 10-5) entered the game against the Cleveland State Vikings (8-20; HL 4-12) having won seven of their last ten games. The first half went the Vikings way as Wright State struggled shooting the ball. Wright State shot 7-19 from the field and shot 6-11 at the free throw line.
The Raiders were also outrebounded by six and had eight turnovers to only five assists. Despite Wright State forcing Cleveland State into 10 turnovers, Wright State found themselves down by six at the half.
In the second half, the Raiders improved their shooting to 42 percent, with the help of the shooting from Grant Benzinger, who would finish the game leading all scorers with 26 points.
After Alstork, forced the game into overtime, the Raiders would play tight defense on the Vikings, holding Cleveland State to only seven points. But with only seven points to match, the Saturday night game would be forced into another overtime.
However, in the second overtime period, the Raiders would finish off Cleveland State, by outscoring the Vikings 14-8.
Cleveland State’s Demonte Flannigan led the way for his team with 22 points and 11 rebounds. Wright State forward Steven Davis chipped in 17 points to go along with five rebounds and four assists.
The game marked Wright State’s first double overtime game for Wright State since they beat Green Bay by two points in 2013.
The Raiders will end their three game road trip, against Northern Kentucky (18-10; HL 9-6) on Tuesday, Feb. 21 at 7 p.m. before coming back home on Friday, Feb. 24 to play top ranked Valparaiso (21-6; HL 11-3) at 7:30.
