Men’s Basketball vs. BGSU | Photo by Arden Reimer | The Wright State Guardian
Following an impressive victory over Louisville this past weekend, the Wright State University men’s basketball team returned home to square off against the Falcons of Bowling Green State University on Tuesday night.
Before the game
Senior guard Trey Calvin earned Horizon League player of the week last week following a 37 point performance against Davidson with the game-winning shot over Louisville.
In matchup history, both the Raiders and Falcons claimed eight wins over 16 meetings.
The game
The Raiders started the game sloppily, frustrating head coach Scott Nagy.
“We messed up a couple things early, and it bothered me so much that I couldn’t get myself pulled back together emotionally,” Nagy stated.
The Raiders relied on a solid defensive performance to help propel the team through the evening.
After coming back from an injury that had the forward sidelined the entirety of last season, freshman Brandon Noel had a personal best performance of the season, posting a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Noel commented on this gameplay with a focus on the future.
“I am happy with it, but there are a lot of things I could have done better. I’m going to keep going, and I’m grateful to be out there,” Noel said.
WSU took a five point lead into halftime, leading 32-27. In the second half, WSU relied on the offensive side of the ball to pull ahead.
“In the second half, we couldn’t stop them, but they couldn’t stop us,” Nagy noted.
BGSU scored 12 points in the first two minutes in the second half. On WSU’s end, senior transfer Amari Davis posted 19 points, shooting 8-13 from the field.
“I’m perfecting my midrange shot everyday. Anytime I get in those positions, I just shoot it with confidence,” Davis explained.
Nagy utilizes Davis in situations that the coach also emphasizes for WSU on defense. Nagy described how this plays out on the WSU side.
“A lot of the shots Amari takes are shots we try to force the other team to take: contested midrange jumpshots,” Nagy said. “He is an exceptional midrange shooter.”
WSU had nine players in the scoring column, making it difficult for other teams to scout the Raiders. Nagy commented on the independence of the team and its decision-making on the court.
“I don’t know what we are going to do. I just put the trust in the players, and we give them a lot of freedom offensively,” Nagy said.
Despite having 15 turnovers and allowing multiple Falcon offensive runs, WSU held on and won by a final score of 80-71.
Moving forward
With the victory, WSU moves on to 2-1 and will return home Thursday evening to face Defiance.
Viewers can find the game on ESPN+ and listen on WWSU 106.9 FM.
