Men’s Basketball | Photo by Jessica Fugett | The Wright State Guardian
The men’s basketball team beat the Robert Morris Colonials in two games over the weekend on Friday, January 29 (79-70) and Saturday, January 30 (86-56). The men’s team has now won their last 5 games in the Horizon League, and are only one loss behind first-place Cleveland State.
The players to watch for the weekend’s games were Wright State’s Grant Basile and Loudon Love who both had career high points, with Basile scoring 29 on Friday and Love scoring 34 on Saturday. For Robert Morris, Kahliel Spear had 22 points and 13 points over both games.
Game One
Loudon Love won the tip ball, and put in a quick basket in the paint for the first points on the board. But Robert Morris showed up ready to play and hit the Raiders with fast breaks for a 12-2 lead.
WSU hit back after a timeout from coach Nagy, using three-pointers to tie the game at 17-17. Neither team could gain an edge on the other, with WSU’s lead only at 31-28 at the half.
After the break, Wright State improved their lead little by little with a three-point play from Tanner Holden and a dunk from Loudon Love bringing the game to 40-33.
Robert Morris was able to tie the game again with four players scoring 14 or above on Friday, this time at 42.
“When they have their offense in front of their bench, they do a good job,” Nagy said. “They run it very efficiently.”
The Raiders used a mix of quick and patient offense to keep RMU guessing, with drives from Holden and points in the paint from Grant Basile pushing their lead to 58-48.
“We had a lot of really good guys on the post,” Grant Basile said after the game. “This team has a lot of talented players… it makes it easy for everyone when we can throw the ball, get away, and just space the floor.”
Basile continued his great performances from the previous week against IUPUI, with 29 points over the whole game giving the Raiders a 9-point lead with 3 minutes left to play.
Robert Morris called a full-court press to try and save the game, but a foul shot from Wright State secured the win 79-70.
Game Two
Just like in game one, Love won the tip ball and put in a basket up close for an early Wright State lead.
The Raiders hit hard from range, with three pointers from Trey Calvin and Tim Finke in the first six minutes giving them a 16-7 lead. After a RMU timeout, Wright State was then able to score up close, with Basile and Love both scoring twice in the paint and extending their lead to 24-11.
WSU continued to dominate Robert Morris everywhere, winning rebounds 26-15 and shooting 43% from distance in the first half for a big 42-23 lead.
“The first half was obviously the back-breaker,” Nagy said. “I was really pleased defensively.”
The Colonials fought back hard after the break to try and bring back the game, but Loudon Love continued to score in the paint, keeping the raiders at a 54-38 lead with 13:30 left to play.
“The depth of the offensive production we have on this team… It can come from anywhere,” Love said in a post-game interview. “It puts a lot of stress on the defense.”
Wright State had no intentions of losing that lead, with points from Love, Holden, and Basile pushing the lead to 73-42 with seven minutes left. With Love’s 34 points and 11 rebounds breaking apart the RMU defense and offense, the Raiders earned their fifth win in a row, ending the game 86-56.
“I’m happy for [Loudon], really,” Nagy said. “He’s been frustrated with his play for most of the year, and seeing the way he played today, I’m happy for him.”
