Men's Basketball | Photo by Jessica Fugett | The Wright State Guardian
The Wright State Raiders went 2-0 over the Milwaukee Panthers at home on Feb. 12 and 13. After their wins this weekend, the Raiders have won nine games in a row, and are 15-3 in the Horizon League.
The Raiders scored above 90 points in both games, winning Friday 92-81 and Saturday 92-82. Their combined 184 points is the seventh time this season the Raiders have scored above 150 points in a two-game series.
After the Cleveland Vikings’ 1-1 weekend against Detroit Mercy, the Vikings and Raiders are now tied for first in the regular season coming into the last weekend of regular season play.
The players to watch over the weekend were Wright State’s Loudon Love, totaling 50 points and 21 rebounds over both games, Milwaukee’s DeAndre Gholston, totaling 49 points against the WSU defense, and Wright State’s Jaylon Hall, playing strong defense all weekend and shooting 100% for three-pointers in game two.
Game One
Love won the tip, and put in the first basket for the Raiders. Milwaukee punched back with quick points from Te’Jon Lucas and Donovan Newby, forcing a WSU timeout at a 6-4 lead.
The teams stayed even early, with points from Love and the Panthers’ Gholston tying it up, but a three from Alex Huibregtse and a dunk from Grant Basile pushed the Raiders to a 19-13 lead.
Points from Josh Thomas and Gholston gave Milwaukee the lead once again, as the teams tied the game at 21 with eight minutes left.
The Raiders hit Milwaukee hard for the remainder of the game, with three-pointers from Basile mixed with points from Tanner Holden gave them a 42-28 lead after the first half.
Points from Gholston and Thomas after the break tried to close on Wright State’s lead, but three-pointers from Trey Calvin, Tim Finke, and Jaylon Hall continued to deny them, keeping the score at 60-48 with 12 minutes to play.
Both offenses did well as the game winded down, with Gholston scoring 20 and four Raiders hitting double digits with 7:30 left to go.
Milwaukee began to apply a full court press to try and win back the game, but successful free throws secured the Raiders their eighth straight win, 92-81.
Game Two
Love won the tip again, but Gholston scored the first basket of the game for Milwaukee. The teams matched layups in the early minutes, with a Basile three-pointer giving the Raiders a 9-6 lead at the first timeout.
Points up close from Thomas and Gholston were dangerous, but back-to-back threes from Hall kept WSU in the lead 27-18. More three-pointers from the entire offense and Love’s 16 points in the paint jumped their lead to 47-25.
Milwaukee got back to scoring at the end of the half, but the Raiders still led big at the break 52-37.
A dunk from Love started the scoring for Wright State, but points from Tafari Simms started a comeback for Milwaukee, 67-59.
The Panthers continued to gain on the Raiders, but Wright State would not be denied, as points from Holden, Hall, and Calvin won them their 9th game in a row, 92-82.
