Men’s Basketball recap vs. UIC | Photo by Christian Peters | The Wright State Guardian
Wright State University (WSU) Men’s Basketball headed into their Jan. 6 contest against the University of Illinois-Chicago (UIC) Flames after a two-game stretch without head coach Scott Nagy who was sidelined due to COVID-19 protocols.
Nagy returned to the Raiders’ bench against the Flames and got the win 90-72.
WSU struggles early
The Raiders struggled out of the gates, allowing UIC to get out to a 9-2 lead while shooting just one for seven from the field.
WSU then started to heat up, making their next 11 shots courtesy of Tim Finke, Tanner Holden, Trey Calvin and Grant Basile. Calvin was the star of the first half, putting up 14 points as the Raiders took control heading into the halftime break leading 42-35.
UIC’s Kevin Johnson provided a majority of the Flames’ first-half scoring with 11 points.
WSU continued their hot streak in the second half, shooting 75% in the first nine minutes. The Raiders led by a score of 71-50 with 11 minutes remaining in the game.
UIC started to knock down shots late, putting down five three-pointers in the span of five minutes to cut the Raider lead to just 10 with 3:45 remaining. The Raiders’ defense held on to secure a 90-72 victory.
Nagy not satisfied
Although his team got the win, Nagy was not pleased with his team’s defense after the game.
“I don’t like our defense, we’re still not to the one point per possession that I want,” Nagy said. “If we’re ever going to win a conference championship, we’ve got to play better defense.”
WSU guard Tim Finke also commented on the team’s defense.
“Our defense was pretty off at the beginning, they were getting some open looks,” Finke said. “That’s one thing we talked about at halftime was ball pressure.”
Although Nagy’s team has propelled themselves back into Horizon League contention, he is still not satisfied with his squad’s defensive and rebounding abilities.
“We are not a good rebounding team, and we are not a good defensive team. It’s bothered me all year,” Nagy said.
