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Men's Rally Falls Short at Valparaiso

Box Score

Wright State rallied from a 13-point halftime deficit to force overtime and had a one-point advantage in the extra period with 19 seconds left, but a three-point play by Shawn Hoff with 1.6 seconds remaining gave the Valparaiso Crusaders a 75-73 Horizon League win in the regular-season finale for both teams at the Athletics-Recreation Center Saturday afternoon.

Valparaiso jumped out to an 18-7 lead eight minutes into the contest thanks in part to four three-pointers, but the Raiders trimmed the deficit to one with a 12-2 run over the next four minutes, four of those coming from Cooper Land.

It was still a one-point margin at 22-21 following a Ronnie Thomas jumper at the 7:06 mark, but the Crusaders outscored WSU 17-5 the remainder of the half, including two Michael Rogers threes, to go up 39-26 at the break.

Valpo shot 50 percent in the first half, including eight of 16 from behind the arc, while Wright State was at 32 percent overall, but just two of 11 from three-point range.

The margin was 10 at 48-38 with 12 minutes left in the second half before the Raiders went on 12-3 run, five coming on a three and two foul shots by N'Gai Evans, to make it 51-50. Wright State then drew to within one on three other occasions before finally tying the game at 67 on a Scottie Wilson three with 1:04 remaining.

Jordan Pleiman gave WSU an early advantage in the overtime by hitting one of two foul shots, only to see Huff put the Crusaders up 72-68 with a layup and three.

A Vaughn Duggins three and Will Graham basket with 19 seconds left gave the Raiders a 73-72 edge, but Huff converted on the three-point play at the 1.6 second mark to give the Crusaders the win.

Wright State shot 65 percent in the second half, but was only two of six from the field in overtime to finish at 44 percent overall while Valparaiso hit three of five shots in the extra period and was 40 percent for the game. The Raiders were 18 of 26 from the foul line compared to 10 of 14 for the Crusaders.

Todd Brown paced WSU with 13 points while Graham had 12 and Pleiman posted a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds. Wilson chipped in nine.

Rogers led all scorers with a double-double effort of 21 points and 12 rebounds for Valparaiso (19-12, 9-9 Horizon) while Huff had 17, including all eight of the Crusader points in overtime, and Urule Igbavboa added 13.

Wright State, now 20-9 overall and 12-6 in the Horizon League, will find out its tournament fate Saturday night. Should Youngstown State beat Cleveland State, the Raiders will earn the #2 seed and not play until the semifinals on Saturday, March 8, at 4:30 at Hinkle Fieldhouse. If the Vikings beat the Penguins, WSU will be the #3 seed and host #10 seed Detroit in the opening round on Tuesday, March 4, at 7:00 at the Nutter Center.

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Players Mentioned

Todd Brown

#21 Todd Brown

G
6' 5"
Sophomore
Vaughn Duggins

#44 Vaughn Duggins

G
6' 3"
Sophomore
N

#11 N'Gai Evans

G
6' 1"
Freshman
Will Graham

#34 Will Graham

G
6' 1"
Junior
Cooper Land

#14 Cooper Land

F
6' 8"
Freshman
Jordan Pleiman

#50 Jordan Pleiman

F
6' 8"
Senior
Ronnie Thomas

#40 Ronnie Thomas

F
6' 9"
Sophomore
Scottie Wilson

#2 Scottie Wilson

F
6' 6"
Senior

Players Mentioned

Todd Brown

#21 Todd Brown

6' 5"
Sophomore
G
Vaughn Duggins

#44 Vaughn Duggins

6' 3"
Sophomore
G
N

#11 N'Gai Evans

6' 1"
Freshman
G
Will Graham

#34 Will Graham

6' 1"
Junior
G
Cooper Land

#14 Cooper Land

6' 8"
Freshman
F
Jordan Pleiman

#50 Jordan Pleiman

6' 8"
Senior
F
Ronnie Thomas

#40 Ronnie Thomas

6' 9"
Sophomore
F
Scottie Wilson

#2 Scottie Wilson

6' 6"
Senior
F