Wright State, UIC Pick Up Wins on Wednesday Night

Horizon League men's basketball teams split four games on Wednesday night, with home teams Wright State and UIC picking up wins while Green Bay and Loyola each fell on the road.

Wright State 56, Jackson State 39
The Raiders were slow to get going, but knocked down their last two buckets of the first half to take a slim 17-14 lead into the locker room and then rolled in the second half to a 56-39 win over Jackson State in the Global Sports Shootout.

Wright State (2-1) used consecutive three-pointers from Reggie Arceneaux early in the second half to stretch its lead to eight, and the Raiders led by as much as 19 in the second half. Arceneaux tied for game-high honors with 15 points.

Armond Battle added 10 points and three blocks, helping limit Jackson State to just 26.2-percent shooting on the night. The Tigers were just 3-of-17 from the floor in the opening half.

UIC 59, Roosevelt 42
Struggling offensively, UIC (1-1) clamped down on the defensive end of the court, holding visiting Roosevelt to 14-of-60 shooting en route to a 59-42 win on Wednesday.

Darrin Williams collected his first career double-double, leading the Flames with 18 points and 12 rebounds. For good measure, the big man recorded four blocks as well. While Williams controlled the paint, Daniel Barnes and Greg Travis paced the UIC backcourt, tallying 11 and 14 points, respectively.

North Dakota State 65, Green Bay 61
In a game in which neither team led by more than seven points, Green Bay could not get past North Dakota State, falling 65-61 at the Bison Sports Arena.

Green Bay (1-2) trailed most of the second half, finally getting over the hump when Alec Brown knocked down a jumper to put the Phoenix ahead with 2:37 to play. However, North Dakota State scored the next six points of the game to help seal the result.

Brown and Steve Baker led the way for the Phoenix, each finishing with 16 points. Brown came up two rebounds shy of his third consecutive double-double but did block five shots. Keifer Sykes recorded nine points and five assists from the point guard spot.

Eastern Illinois 65, Loyola 61
Loyola (0-3) battled back from a seven-point second half deficit to lead much of the second half, but could not get enough stops down the stretch to hold off Eastern Illinois, dropping a 65-61 contest in Charleston, Ill.

Trailing 44-35 two minutes into the second half, the Ramblers got it going, rolling off a 16-2 run to assume a five-point lead at 51-46 following a Ben Averkamp bucket. Loyola would hold a two-point lead for much of the half and led, 60-58, with just over two minutes to play.

Eastern Illinois, though, would respond with a dunk to knot the game with 1:49 remaining and picked up the go-ahead thee-point play with 53 ticks left on the clock. A turnover prevented the Ramblers from setting up for a tie, and Eastern Illinois fouled before allowing the Ramblers a chance at a game-tying three.

Walt Gibler led four Ramblers in double figures with 15 points, while Denzel Brito continued to give Loyola backcourt points with 13. Joe Crisman added 12 and Chim Kadima chipped in 10.