Behind a balanced attack and 57 percent shooting in the first half, the men's basketball team rolled to a 70-53 Horizon League victory over Cleveland State Thursday night at WSU's Nutter Center.

Rob Edwards gave the Vikings a 7-6 edge with a layup at the 15-minute mark of the first half, but that turned out to be the only lead of the night for CSU as the Raiders used an 8-0 run to take the lead for good, four each coming from Michael Karena and Biggie Minnis.

A pair of Grant Benzinger threes helped pushed the margin to 28-18 and another triple by the sophomore guard just ahead of the horn gave Wright State a 42-32 advantage at the half.

WSU hit 17 of 30 shots in the opening 20 minutes for 57 percent, including five of 12 from three-point range, while CSU was even hotter from the field, connecting on 12 of 20 shots for 60 percent.  The Raiders, though, forced 11 turnovers while committing five, resulting in a 17-6 differential in points off of turnovers.

Cleveland State would get no closer than eight the rest of the way, with Wright State's biggest lead being 70-49 on two Parker Ernsthausen foul shots with 1:58 to play.

Both teams shot 47 percent for the game, but the Raiders also made 10 of 25 threes compared to three of 14 for the Vikings.  WSU also led 25-8 in points off of turnovers as they forced 15 miscues while committing only seven.

Five Wright State players scored nine or more points on the night, led by Benzinger with 17 while Karena had 16 and Mark Alstork 13.  JT Yoho had 11 off the bench while Minnis added nine along with five assists, also off the bench.

Andre Yates paced Cleveland State (5-13, 0-5 Horizon) with 14 points.

Wright State (9-8, 3-1 Horizon) continues the five-game homestand on Saturday, January 16, with a 7:00 contest against Youngstown State.