Wright State University
19-13
Oakland (Second Round)
13-20
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oakland | 25 | 32 | 57 |
| Wright State | 30 | 43 | 73 |
Men Pull Away to Defeat Oakland in HL Second Round
3/7/2014 5:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
A 9-0 run early in the second half pushed a five-point halftime lead into double figures and the Wright State men's basketball team never looked back as the Raiders went on to a 73-57 decision over Oakland in Horizon League Second Round action Friday night at the Resch Center in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
Miles Dixon connected on a pair of threes to open the scoring and after the senior guard hit three free throws after being fouled on a three attempt, a Dixon layup along with a Jerran Young three gave WSU a 14-5 lead at the 14:22 mark of the first half.
A Cole Darling three extended the margin to 22-10 before the Golden Grizzlies went on a 14-5 run to cut the deficit to 27-24 with 3:25 left in the period. The margin was still three until a foul shot from Dixon and JT Yoho made it 30-25 at the half.
Wright State shot 40 percent from the field in the opening 20 minutes, including six of 14 from three-point range, and hit eight of 11 free throws while Oakland shot 35 percent from the floor, just three of nine from behind the arc, and was eight of 13 at the stripe.
The decisive 9-0 run in the early stages of the second half featured a pair of threes by Matt Vest to push the advantage to 41-27 with 15:51 to play.
The Golden Grizzlies closed to within seven at 45-38 with 10 minutes remaining, but an 8-2 Raider burst, five of those coming from AJ Pacher, extended the lead back into double figures, where it stayed the rest of the way.
WSU scorched the nets in the second half, hitting 15 of 23 shots for 65 percent, including three of five threes, to finish the game at 54 percent overall. The Raiders tied a season high by connecting on nine of 19 threes for the contest, matching the nine they had at Oakland on February 16.
Dixon led Wright State with a season-high 20 points while Vest had 11. In all, nine Raiders dented the scoring column.
Travis Bader paced Oakland (13-20) with 20 ponts while Dante Williams had 13 off the bench.
Wright State (19-13), which tied its longest winning streak under head coach Billy Donlon with its fifth straight victory, now faces #2 seed Cleveland State in the semifinals on Saturday at 7:00 Eastern, again at the Resch Center in Green Bay. The Raiders and Vikings each won on the other's home court this season, with WSU prevailing 49-46 in Cleveland on January 19 while CSU won 72-68 at the Nutter Center on February 8.
