Wright State men’s basketball team bounced back after two road losses with a tight 84-83 victory over Milwaukee (15-8; 6-4 Horizon) at the Nutter Center on Thursday, Feb. 4.
Senior forward JT Yoho was on fire for the second-straight game as he nearly set a new career-high in back-to-back games with 31 points at Detroit then 29 against the Panthers.
“We knew it wasn’t going to be easy,” Yoho said. “I was kind of in the zone again, my shot has been feeling really good lately and my teammates found me in the right spots. I always give credit to them.”
JT Yoho attempts a shot against Milwaukee.
“His numbers speak for themselves,” head coach Billy Donlon said. “He had one foul and that’s probably the most important guy not to get into fouls.”
Yoho sank a free-throw with 15 seconds remaining to give WSU an 83-81 lead.
Senior forward Joe Thomasson chased down a Matt Tiby lay-up attempt and pinned the ball against the backboard with under 10 seconds remaining, but Tiby was fouled on the rebound by sophomore guard Justin Mitchell.
Tiby sank both free-throws to tie the game at 83 with five seconds remaining, but J.R. Lyle fouled Thomasson and one free-throw later, the Raiders were victorious.
Despite making the game-winner, Thomasson did not start the game for the first time this season as a decision by Donlon.
“I didn’t let it effect my play,” Thomasson said. “I made a bad choice and I had to deal with the consequences.”
The Raiders jumped ahead 7-2 after the first two minutes, then allowed four straight points by the Panthers before Yoho sparked a 25-9 run after sinking a three-pointer with 16:04 remaining.
WSU led 35-15 with 8:55 remaining when junior Cody Wichmann responded with two 3-pointers and eight-points during a 15-5 run by Milwaukee over the next four minutes. The final five minutes of the half were even as both teams scored 12 points for a halftime score of 52-42.
Yoho shot 8-11 in the first half with three 3 pointers and 21 points while WSU shot 70.4 percent compared to 57 by Milwaukee.
“I would hate to guard him (Yoho),” Thomasson said. “He’s so versatile and he can do so many things. He’s a problem. Credit to him for working on his game.”
Akeem Springs made a lay-up 46 seconds into the second half to cut the deficit to eight, but WSU responded with a 12-5 run over the next 4:53. Capping a 16-8 run by the Panthers, Springs sank a three-pointer with 7:41 remaining to make the score 72-65. Springs led Milwaukee with 21 points on 7-10 shooting.
The Panthers battled back with a 18-11 run as they tied the game with five seconds remaining.
Thomasson finished with 15 points while sophomore guard Mark Alstork collected 14 for WSU.
“It feels good to be going back in the right direction,” Thomasson said. “Us bouncing back and sweeping Milwaukee feels good. We came together once again and pulled it out.”
Wright State (14-10; 8-3 Horizon) will be back in action on Saturday, Feb. 6 as they host Green Bay (13-9; 5-4) at 7 p.m.
