Men's Basketball Final Shot: Feb. 4 - Call it a Comeback

Men’s Basketball Scoreboard (Feb. 4)
Wright State 62, Loyola 59

Trailing by 11 points with 5:43 to play, Wright State refused to go quietly. Outscoring Loyola by 14 points down the stretch, the Raiders stunned the Ramblers, 62-59, in a lupine matchup at the Nutter Center.

Wright State (15-8, 6-4 Horizon) moved into a tie for third place with Green Bay; the Raiders travel to the Resch Center to take on the Phoenix on Thursday.

The Raiders went on an 18-4 run down the stretch to shock Loyola (13-10, 3-7 Horizon), which led by as many as 14 points in the game. The game was the 14^th in the Horizon League to be decided in the final minute of play.

After a Jeff White layup gave Loyola a 55-44 lead with 5:43 to play, Wright State got rolling behind Jerran Young, who drained a three to force a Ramblers timeout.

Matters became more complicated for Loyola on its next possession, as Ben Averkamp was called for an offensive foul, sending the Ramblers’ senior leader to the bench with five fouls. Wright State would continue to apply pressure, as Miles Dixon closed the gap to 55-50 with a three at the 4:30 mark.

Loyola would trade free throws for layups on the next four possessions and held a 59-54 lead with 2:52 remaining. However, a Cole Darling steal led to a Joe Bramanti three-point play.

Two Dixon free throws would knot the game at 59 with 2:12 to go; Darling, who had fought through a cramp in his right leg before returning, would take a charge to give Wright State the ball back with 1:39 to play.

Darling then knocked down a jumper on the right side to give the Raiders their first lead since 5-4.

Loyola had several chances to tie or take the lead in the closing minute, beginning with a three from White that rattled in and out. A scramble for the loose ball led to Bramanti coming away with the ball, but an errant pass gave the ball right back to Loyola.

Cully Payne got into the lane, but Darling was there to swat away the attempt. Another Loyola steal would lead to Jordan Hicks driving for a layup, but his attempt came off the rim, and his tip-in would not fall.

Dixon grabbed the board and split a pair of free throws to give the Raiders a three-point edge, and when Loyola could not get off an attempt to tie, Wright State had a stunning victory.

Loyola blitzed Wright State in the first half, opening a 34-22 halftime lead behind a balanced effort. Christian Thomas had eight points and seven rebounds in the first 20 minutes en route to a 13-point, eight-rebound effort. Devon Turk scored eight of his 11 in the first half.

Payne came off the bench to add 10 for the Ramblers.

Darling led all scorers with 17, going 8-of-13 from the floor and coming away with four steals. Young came off the bench to finish with 11, giving him six appearances with 10 or more points off the bench.