Wright State University
11-17, 3-11HL
Valparaiso
25-4, 12-2HL
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wright State | 24 | 24 | 48 |
| Valparaiso | 23 | 32 | 55 |
Men Drop 55-48 Decision at Valparaiso
2/21/2015 5:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
The Wright State men's basketball team led by five early in the second half, only to see Valparaiso use a 14-0 run to take control en route to a 55-48 Horizon League decision Saturday night at the ARC.
A Grant Benzinger layup gave the Raiders an 8-4 advantage at the 14:40 mark of the first half, a margin that turned out to be the biggest for either team in the period as there were six ties and seven lead changes.
Valparaiso led for most of the final eight minutes of the stanza until a Chrishawn Hopkins three with 1:45 left put WSU up 24-23 at the half.
Wright State shot 44 percent in the opening 20 minutes compared to 46 percent for the Crusaders.
Baskets by Michael Karena and Reggie Arceneaux extended the lead to five to start the second half and the Raiders were still up 32-29 on two Hopkins foul shots at the 16:54 mark.
Valpo would go on the decisive 14-0 run from there, half of those by Darien Walker, but WSU battled back to within four on two occasions, the second being 46-42 on a Hoplins layup with 5:54 left.
The Crusaders, however, pushed the margin back into double figures with a 9-0 burst before the Raiders tallied the final six points of the contest.
Wright State shot 39 percent from the overall, but struggled from three-point range, hitting just one of 14 attempts. Valparaiso, meanwhile, shot 43 percent for the game and connected on six of 16 tries from behind the arc.
Valpo also held a 37-25 rebounding advantage, 13-8 on the offensive end, which resulted in a 16-8 differential in second-chance points.
Hopkins and Benzinger each had 11 points to lead the Raiders while Karena added 10 points and seven rebounds.
Alec Peters paced Valparaiso (25-4, 12-2 Horizon) with a double-double of 17 points and 10 boards while Walker had 14 off the bench.
Wright State (11-17, 3-11 Horizon) wraps up the home portion of the regular-season schedule on Thursday, February 26, as the Raiders host Milwaukee at 7:00. WSU's three seniors--Arceneaux, Kendall Griffin and Chrishawn Hopkins--will be honored following the game.
