Men’s Basketball | Photo by Monica Brutto | The Wright State Guardian
Alex Huibregtse and Andrew Welage both scored career-high points for Wright State men’s basketball on Thursday night, as the Raiders took down the Milwaukee Panthers 93-86.
A shining light
The win was one of the season’s best performances for the Raiders, as the Panthers sat on top of the conference table before Thursday’s action; but, 25 points from Huibregtse in a personal second-ever start and 19 from Welage stunned Milwaukee, as WSU held the lead throughout the game.
“I would say it kind of just shows us what our potential is,” Huibregtse said. “If we’re dialed in like we were tonight, every night, we come off and get a hot start … when we do that we’ve got a chance versus anybody in this league for sure.”
First-half dominance
Coming into the game, the Panthers looked to be the clear favorites, standing at the top of the conference with an 8-2 record versus WSU’s 4-6. WSU came out of the gate swinging, hustling for every loose ball and on defense to dominate the first half, up 47-26 at the break against the best team in the Horizon League.
It was not the normal leading scorers that stood out for the Raiders, either. In the first half, Andrew Welage got hot early, with 15 points before the break, leading the charge.
“It was so nice to see Andrew play so confidently,” Scott Nagy, head coach for WSU, said. “We were even able to post him some, so we had the lead and we stayed on the attack.”
After the break, it was time for Huibregtse to step up. The redshirt sophomore was a sharpshooter for WSU, scoring 16 points in the second half alone.
“I love the way Alex answered the call tonight. He just got put in the starting lineup for the first time and that’s a response right there for sure,” Nagy said. “I mean, when’s the last time we made 10 threes?”
The Panthers were able to claw back into the game, but the lead that the Raiders built—thanks to Welage in the first half and Huibregtse in the second half—stood firm and carried the team to a seven-point victory.
Giving away the ball
While Thursday night was a big win for the Raiders, the team’s turnovers are still a sore spot for coach Nagy and the players. The Raiders gave up 21 turnovers, and while MKE did give up 20, fewer turnovers could have made the game much easier for WSU.
The Panthers applied a full-court press throughout the game, which did have an effect on turnovers, but the Raiders still want to hold onto the ball much better.
“You don’t really want a whole lot of games with 21 turnovers, honestly,” Welage said. “We knew they were going to press most the game, especially since they did last time in the second half, and they ended up coming back.”
As the Raiders move forward with the season, every game counts now, as the team currently sit in seventh with not much time left to climb. The team’s next opportunity comes this Saturday for the homecoming matchup against the Green Bay Phoenix.
“We’re not really in a spot where we can take games lightly at this point, so I think we’ll be turned up and ready to go,” Welage said. “ I don’t see a reason why we wouldn’t be, honestly, so I think it’s gonna be really important.”
The Raiders will take on the Green Bay Phoenix in the Homecoming game on Saturday Jan. 28 at 7 p.m. in the Nutter Center.
