Men's Basketball Final Shot: March 25: Onto the Semifinals

Men’s Basketball Scoreboard (March 25)
Wright State 57, Richmond 51 (CBI)

Picked to finish ninth in the Horizon League, Wright State extended its season into the semifinals of the CBI, presented by Buick, closing the game on a 12-3 run to knock off visiting Richmond, 57-51, at the WSU Nutter Center.

Wright State (23-12) trailed the visiting Spiders, 48-45, following Cedric Lindsey’s layup with 4:13 to play. However, once their subsequent possession, the Raiders came away with a key offensive board, kicking the ball out to Reggie Arceneaux.

Arceneaux caught the ball in stride on the left wing and buried a three, knotting the game at 48 and swinging momentum into the home team’s corner.

The stout Wright State defense would hold on the next Richmond possession, and once more an offensive rebound provided second-chance points for the Raiders. This time it was Miles Dixon capitalizing, driving to the left block and pump-faking to earn a wide-open layup that gave WSU a 50-48 advantage.

Again, the defense would hold, with Jerran Young drawing a turnover on Richmond’s Derrick Williams. Young would get into the lane with a jumper before another turnover led to a spinning breakaway dunk by the junior, sending Wright State in front, 54-48, with 1:08 to play.

Richmond, however, would not go quietly, slicing the deficit in half on a Greg Robbins three with 43 seconds remaining. Employing a full-court press, the Spiders were on the receiving end of a Wright State turnover, giving Richmond a chance to tie the game in the final minute of regulation.

However, Robbins’ next attempt was short, and Matt Vest corralled the rebound. Young would hit 3-of-4 attempts at the line to seal the result.

With both teams employing methodical offenses and stingy defenses, scoring was balanced, as 17 of the 19 players who appeared in the game scored, but only three finished in double figures. Dixon led all scorers with 14 off the bench, while Young added 13 for Wright State, which shot 45.5 percent on the night.

Robbins was the lone Spider in double figures, posting 12 points.