After scoring 41 points in the first half, it was the Wright State defense that was on display in the second half as the Raiders held Loyola without a field goal for the final 15:21 in pulling away for a 68-47 Horizon League victory over the Ramblers Thursday night at the Nutter Center.

Both teams were hitting in the early going as a Marcus Thomas three gave Loyola a 17-15 advantage with 11:26 remaining in the first half. That turned out to be the final lead of the night for the Ramblers, however, as a fast-break layup from Cooper Land followed by a N'Gai Evans three put WSU up to stay and the Raiders extended the margin to 36-23 with a 12-2 run over a five-minute span, eight of those coming from Troy Tabler.

Wright State led 41-30 at the break as the Raiders shot 59 percent from the field overall, including eight of 15 from three-point range, while Loyola was at 44 percent altogether and was four of eight from behind the arc.

A Walt Gibler three from the left wing cut the deficit to 44-40 with 15:21 to play, but that would be the final field goal of the game for the Ramblers as Loyola managed just seven free throws in 13 attempts the rest of the way.

The lead, though, was just 49-43 at the 9:46 mark until WSU put the game out of reach with a 14-0 run over a six-minute span, a burst that saw Wright State make 10 of 11 foul shots before closing it with back-to-back Cory Cooperwood layups.

Both teams struggled from the field the final 20 minutes as the Raiders hit seven of 23 shots compared to just four of 26 for the Ramblers. Wright State, though, hit 13 of 17 at the line during the second half while Loyola was seven of 13. WSU led in rebounds (38-30), points in the paint (24-14), points off of turnovers (13-9) and fast-break points (12-2).

Tabler led all scorers with 16 off the bench for the Raiders as the WSU bench outscored the Loyola reserves 30-17. Todd Brown added 13 and Cooperwood 10, all in the second half.

J.R. Blount paced Loyola (11-9, 3-5 Horizon) with 10 points.

Wright State (11-8, 5-3 Horizon), winners of 11 of their last 13 games, looks to keep the momentum going Saturday as the Raiders host UIC in a 7:00 contest.