A 15-2 run to start the second half put Wright State ahead to stay and, behind a balanced scoring attack, the Raiders defeated the Milwaukee Panthers 80-70 in the Speedway Horizon League Tournament quarterfinals in Indianapolis Friday night.

Milwaukee led 6-5 following a Tony Meier three, but WSU followed with a 21-8 run over the next 9:36, a run that featured five three-pointers from four different players. The Panthers closed to within five at 28-23 before another Raider burst, this time 9-0, put Wright State up 37-23 with 4:04 remaining in the first half.

The rest of the half, however, was dominated by Milwaukee as the Panthers outscored the Raiders 14-2 to tie the game at 39 heading into the break.

Wright State shot 54 percent from the field over the opening 20 minutes, including eight of 12 from behind the arc, while Milwaukee was at 52 percent overall and six of 13 from three-point range.

The Raiders opened up a 54-41 advantage with the 15-2 run over the first five minutes of the second half, capped off by back-to-back Cooper Land threes. Milwaukee cut the deficit to 61-54 after a Deon Roberts layup with 7:34 to play, but a three-point play by Scott Grote and a Todd Brown triple pushed the lead back into double figures.

The Panthers would make one last run as a Tone Boyle three made it 73-66 with 1:58 left, but WSU sealed the win by hitting seven foul shots down the stretch.

Wright State finished the night at 53 percent and was 12 of 18 from three while Milwaukee ended up at 45 percent for the game and was eight of 26 from behind the arc. WSU was also 18 of 28 at the foul line compared to 10 of 16 for the Panthers.

Cory Cooperwood posted a double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Raiders while Land had 13 off the bench. N'Gai Evans had 12 and Grote 10 off the bench as all eight players that dented the scoring column for WSU scored at least seven points.

Roberts and Avery Smith each had 15 for Milwaukee (17-14) while Ricky Franklin and Jason Averkamp both had 10.

Wright State (20-12) now faces top seed Butler in the semifinals Saturday night at 7:00, again at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. The game will be televised live on ESPNU.