Down seven early in the second half, the Wright State men's basketball team outscored Belmont 40-25 the final 15:47 for a 79-71 win over the Bruins Thursday night at the Curb Events Center.

After three quick ties, Belmont took the lead in the first half with four straight points and held it throughout the period, extending the margin to as much as 27-18 on two Amanze Egekeze free throws at the 4:25 mark.

The Raiders cut into the deficit and trailed by just one on a Grant Benzinger three in the right corner with seven seconds remaining, only to see Jeff Laidig connect on a desperation three from three-quarters court to give the Bruins a 36-32 halftime advantage.

WSU shot 48 percent from the field in the opening 20 minutes, including four of seven from three, while Belmont shot 44 percent and was four of 11 from behind the arc.  The Bruins, though, were also 10 of 13 at the foul line compared to just two of two for Wright State.

A Reece Chamberlain layup put Belmont up 46-39 with 15:57 to play, but the Raiders stormed back to tie it with seven straight points, capped off by a JT Yoho three.  The Bruins went back up six on a pair of threes, only to see WSU chip away and eventually take its first lead of the game at 55-54 on a Michael Karena hook shot with 9:26 left.

Belmont regained the lead before Joe Thomasson gave Wright State the lead for good with a fast-break dunk at the 2:19 mark.  A Yoho three made it a two-possession game and the Raiders maintained the lead the rest of the way, sealing the win on a Chrishawn Hopkins jumper with 41.8 seconds left and two foul shots from the senior guard at the i31.1-second mark.

WSU scorched the nets in the second half, hitting 17 of 27 shots for 63 percent, including six of eight three-pointers, while the Bruins shot 44 percent.  The Raiders led 34-22 in points in the paint and 14-9 in second-chance points.

Yoho led Wright State with 16 points while Karena scored all but two of 12 of his points in the second half.  Benzinger had 11 points while Reggie Arceneaux and Steven Davis had nine each.

Wright State (6-4) hosts local rival Miami on Sunday at 5:30.