Wright State trailed by as much as seven in the first half, but closed the half with a 15-6 run and then held off a Marshall rally late as the Raiders defeated the Thundering Herd 77-70 at the Nutter Center Wednesday night.

After WSU scored the opening three points of the game, Marshall came out strong and built an 18-11 lead following a Mark Dorris three at the 13:16 mark. The Herd advantage was still 21-16 with just over seven minutes to play before the Raiders went on that 15-6 run the rest of the way, five coming from Todd Brown, to take a 31-26 halftime lead.

Wright State gradually built on the margin early in the second half and went up 52-40 on two Vaughn Duggins foul shots at the 10:34 mark, only to see Marshall cut the deficit to 60-55 with 6:21 remaining as Tirrell Baines made three free throws.

The Herd again came within five on three different occasions over the final three minutes, but the Raiders maintained the lead thanks to six of eight foul shooting down the stretch along with a Brown three and a Duggins fast-break layup on back-to-back plays.

Both teams shot 42 percent from the field for the game overall and Marshall had the edge in three-point shooting (41-39 percent) and second-chance points (17-9). WSU, however, countered by going 34 of 42 from the foul line compared to 17 of 22 for the Herd and outscored Marshall 23-14 in points off of turnovers.

Brown led all scorers with 23 for Wright State and added six rebounds while Duggins had 21 points, including a perfect 10-for-10 at the foul line. Scottie Wilson chipped in nine points and six boards, Will Graham nine points and five assists and Jordan Pleiman six points and seven rebounds.

Dorris paced Marshall (3-1) with 20 points while Taurean Marshall had 15 off the bench and Markel Humphrey 12.

Wright State, now 2-0 on the season, hits the road for the first time on Saturday as the Raiders take on the Marist Red Foxes. Game time is 7:30.