The Wright State Men’s basketball team took the court against the Ohio Valley University Fighting Scots on Tuesday, Nov.5. The Raiders came home and claimed the win, after a tough game at Western Kentucky.
Scoring 98 points in front of the home crowd, led the Raiders to their fifth win of the season. Five players scored in double figures for the Raiders. Jaylon Hall led the team, dropping in 17 points, going 7-11 from the field, including two three-point shots falling for him.
For Wright State, this game was in their control the entire night. The Fighting Scots never led and the game was only tied for 15 seconds. For the other 39 minutes and 45 seconds, the Raiders held the lead. Along with handling the lead, the team also outshot Ohio Valley in multiple areas, including total field goals and free throws.
The Raiders were very efficient from the field, shooting 76 percent in the first half and 55.2 percent in the second half. This led to Loudon Love, Mark Hughes and Grant Benzinger each scoring 16 points. Everett Winchester added 14 and Jaylon hall led the team with his 17.
After the game Grant Benzinger, Loudon Love and head coach Scott Nagy talked about the performance of the team. When asked about the mindset going in after the loss to Western Kentucky, Benzinger made it clear that the team “wanted to win."
“The offense was stagnate and we didn’t get a lot done. Defensively we didn’t guard the ball at all. So this game we wanted more ball pressure and better movement on offense," Bezinger said.
Benzinger also spoke of how Love’s play allows the rest of the team to get open looks, due to the defense having to pay so much attention to Love inside.
“I think anybody would want a player that’s almost averaging a double-double," Nagy said of Love's performance and how he has grown this season. “I want him to desire a bigger role… I want him to call for the ball, because if he does, it frees our guys up on the perimeter."
The men’s team now prepares themselves to play Kent State on Saturday, Dec. 9. The team heads into this with a 5-4 record, while Kent State enters with a 5-3 record.
