Wright State University
9-7, 1-0HL
Oakland
5-11, 0-1HL
Men Defeat Oakland In Horizon League Opener
1/2/2014 5:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
A 20-8 run early in the second half put the Wright State men's basketball team ahead for good as the Raiders went on to a 76-64 win over Oakland Thursday night in the Horizon League opener for both teams at WSU's Nutter Center.
There were seven ties and nine lead changes in the first half before the Raiders went up 30-28 at the break on two Kendall Griffin foul shots with a minute remaining. WSU shot 39 percent from the field in the opening 20 minutes compared to 37 percent for the Golden Grizzlies.
Oakland regained the advantage at 31-30 on a Corey Petros three-point play to start the second half, only to see Wright State go in front to stay on a JT Yoho three. The margin was 39-36 until the Raiders broke the game open with an 11-3 burst, the final four by Miles Dixon at the foul line, to take a 50-39 lead with 10:33 to play.
The Golden Grizzlies would get no closer than eight the rest of the way as WSU sealed the victory by going 21 of 25 at the line in the second half and 26 of 32 for the game. Oakland, meanwhile, was 14 of 20 overall and 10 of 16 after halftime.
Wright State also hit 11 of 17 shots in the second half to finish at 49 percent while OU shot 44 percent the final 20 minutes to end up at 40 percent.
The Raiders held a commanding 48-12 advantage in bench points as Dixon and Chrishawn Hopkins led the way with 13 points each while Cole Darling had 10.
Petros paced Oakland (5-11, 0-1 Horizon) with 16 points while Travis Bader had 15 and Kahlil Felder 10.
Wright State (9-7, 1-0 Horizon) has a quick turnaround as the Raiders head to Detroit Saturday afternoon for a 2:00 contest.
