Top seed Wright State advances to men's basketball title tilt
March 3, 2007
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Box Score
FAIRBORN, Ohio (A0) -- DaShaun Wood scored 25 points, including five in a 7-0 second-half spurt, to lead Wright State past UW-Green Bay 67-51 in a Horizon League semifinal on Saturday night.
Scottie Wilson added 10 points for top-seeded Wright State (22-9), which won its 12th home game in a row.
Mike Schachtner led Wisconsin-Green Bay (18-15) with 17 points.
The Raiders will meet the team with which they shared the league's regular-season title, No. 18 Butler, in Tuesday's night's championship game. The winner gets the conference's automatic NCAA berth. The second-seeded Bulldogs (27-5) edged Loyola of Chicago 67-66 in overtime in the other semifinal.
After the Phoenix narrowed a 33-27 deficit at the half to three points, Drew Burleson had a tip-in, Wood hit a jumper and then added a 3-pointer to push the lead to 40-30.
UW-Green Bay got as close as six points before the Raiders then pulled away, going up by as many as 23 points in the final minutes.
The Phoenix shot just 37 percent from the field, hitting 3-of-18 3-pointers.
The Raiders are in the championship game under first-year coach Brad Brownell just a year after going 13-15 and losing in the first round of the conference tournament.
Notes and Quotes
No. 1 Wright State 67, No. 4 UW-Green Bay 51
Wright State Head Coach Brad Brownell
On the game:
"I was pleased with our play. It's a good win for our guys. We have been practicing for nine days and knew we were really ready. We improved through the week and it's nice to see the hard work rewarded. Green Bay was in a tough spot. They won some games this week, but they played us really well and maybe wore down a bit in the second half."
On DaShaun Wood
"That's where he has matured as a player. He recognizes what his needs are during each game, by half. What we need to do to attack or get others involved. He has matured as a player as to when to be aggressive as a player. He has more confidence in his teammates."
Wright State player DaShaun Wood
On the start:
"We had nine days off and did a lot of preparation. We wanted to come out with energy. The shots didn't fall early, but we had good looks."
On the defense vs. Evanochko:
"It was a team effort. Vaughn (Duggins) was on him all game We tried to make him take hard shots."
Wright State player Vaughn Duggins
On the defense vs. Evanochko:
"He's a great player and I respect him a lot. He didn't score a lot the game before. When he faced us, I tried to limit his assists and contain him. It worked out for us."
Wright State player Drew Burleson
On the atmosphere:
"This place is a totally different place when it's full. It's a great atmosphere to play in... to go in front of 9,000 fans."
On the chance to go to the NCAA Tournament:
"When you come to college, that's your main goal - to play in the NCAA Tournament. This is the most exciting time of the year. Just to be apart of it is extremely exciting."
UW-Green Bay Head Coach Tod Kowalczyk
On the game:
"It's a disappointing loss. I really felt we had a great deal of energy at the beginning. We took a few bad shots and played too with too much emotion of the game. It hurt us. The second half, we let it get away from us. DaSaun Wood played like the player of the year in the league."
On fatigue:
"I did. It's hard, this format, to play three straight game when they are off. We did not play well and they did."
On the zone defense:
"That was a reason. Fatigue was a reason. Our zone defense was good tonight. It forced them to take jump shots. I don't have regrets playing zone gains that team."
On this year and the future:
"We were the youngest team in the league this year. I think Ryan Evanochko did a great job keeping a young team together. The future of our program is very, very bright. We feel good about next year."
UWGB player Ryan Evanochko
On the season ending and the team's future:
"I was hoping to get to the tournament, but for the younger guys, it should leave a good taste in their mouths. They have something to work for. They have a feel for how this tournament is. This leaves a bad taste in the mouth because of how it ends, but gives you something to work on for the next year."
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