Wright State University
Findlay (Exhibition)
Raiders Dominate Second Half in Exhibition Win Over Findlay
11/5/2014 5:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Down eight at the break and 11 early in the second half, the Wright State men's basketball team outscored Findlay 27-3 over a 12-minute span and went on to a 68-59 win over the Oilers in exhibition action Wednesday night at WSU's Nutter Center.
A Michael Karena tip-in drew the Raiders to within two with 8:15 remaining in the first half, only to see Findlay score eight straight points, including a pair of Dylan Kaufman threes, to go up 32-22 with 6:49 remaining in the first half. The Oilers extended the margin to as much as 12 before a Kendall Griffin made it 40-32 at the break.
Findlay scorched the nets for 59 percent in the opening 20 minutes, including five of seven from three-point range, while WSU shot 38 percent overall and was four of nine from behind the arc.
A Ricardo Smith jumper gave the Oilers a 48-37 advantage with 16:26 to play, but it would be all Wright State from that point as the Raiders tallied 27 of the game's next 30 points, 10 of those by Chrishawn Hopkins, to take the lead for good at 64-51 with four minutes to play.
Findlay would get no closer than the final margin of nine the rest of the way as the Oilers were held to 26 percent shooting in the second half, including missing all six three-point attempts. Wright State, meanwhile shot 46 percent the final 20 minutes to end up at 42 percent for the game. The Raiders led 34-28 in points in the paint and 26-17 in points off of turnovers.
Steven Davis paced WSU with 14 points, 10 coming in the first half, and had six rebounds while Kendall Griffin had 13 points, six boards and five steals. Hopkins chipped in 12 points while Joe Thomasson had 11 off the bench.
Wright State opens the regular season on Friday, November 14, as the Raiders host Belmont for a 7:00 contest.
