Men’s Basketball Scoreboard (Jan. 21)
Wright State 64, Detroit 62
In baseball, it’s said that good pitching beats good hitting. In football, good defense stymies good offense. And on Monday night, it was Wright State’s defense that flummoxed one of the nation’s top offenses in Detroit, snagging a 64-62 road win on Dick Vitale Court at Calihan Hall.
Wright State (14-5, 5-1 Horizon) entered the night with an adjusted tempo of 63.7, the 287th-quickest pace in the nation. Playing their second game in three days, the Raiders attempted to control a Detroit (12-8, 4-3 Horizon) team that played at the 28th-fastest pace (71.2) in the nation.
The Raiders’ defense prevailed, holding a Detroit team that averaged 79.4 points per game 17 under its season average; Wright State entered the night 14th in the nation with a 56.6 ppg scoring defense. The Titans were held to just two fast-break points in the game and had just 64 possessions.
Wright State never trailed in the game, controlling play throughout and using a late 9-2 run to regain control and hold off Detroit.
Leading 52-43 with 8:29 to play after a Kendall Griffin three-pointer, the Raiders saw the advantage slip away as the host Titans used a 10-1 run to knot the game with 5:03 to play, sending the crowd at Calihan Hall into a frenzy after a Doug Anderson fast-break dunk.
However, following a 30-second timeout, Wright State went right back to the well, setting up Cole Darling down low as the shot clock wound down. Darling’s layup and foul put the Raiders back up, 56-53.
After Anderson countered with a jumper, it was Reggie Areceneaux who put Wright State on his back, hitting a long jumper and following it with a layup to push the Raiders lead to 60-55, with 3:09 remaining.
The lead would extend to 64-58 following two Tavares Sledge free throws, but Detroit would attempt to rally once more. A jumper from Juwan Howard, Jr., and free throws by Jason Calliste brought the Titans within two, 64-62, with 42.2 second remaining.
After a defensive stop, Detroit took a timeout to set up an inbounds from midcourt. Off a wheel, Ray McCallum got the ball on the right side, where his fadeaway three-pointer drew iron but did not drop.
Kendall Griffin led Wright State with a career-high 15 points, nine of which came in the first half. The sophomore was pivotal in helping the Raiders assume a 39-30 lead at the half. Arceneaux added 11 points, while Cole Darling chipped in 10. For the game, Wright State shot 50.0 percent from the field, hitting 24-of-48 attempts.
Anderson led all scorers with 20 points, going 9-for-18 from the floor. Nick Minnerath added 12, while Howard, Jr. and Jason Calliste each had 10. McCallum, the Horizon League’s leading scorer, finished with eight, 10.7 points under his season average. For the night, Detroit was just 21-of-56 from the field.
