Raiders Open League Play with "W"

Thursday, December 28

Wright State Nutter Center

7:00 PM

Wright State University

9-5, 1-0HL

UIC

5-9, 0-1HL

UIC

Wright State

Photo by: Allison Rodriguez

12/28/2017 9:54:00 AM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Photo Gallery Highlights Post Game Mark Hughes Post Game

Wright State Defeats UIC 65-61

By: Communications

The Wright State men's basketball team opened the Horizon League schedule Thursday night with a 65-61 win over UIC. Three Raiders scored in double figures, led by Justin Mitchell with 14 points. Mark Hughes added 13 while Grant Benzinger finished with 11 points and 11 rebounds.

GAME SUMMARY

First Half Highlights

Wright State and UIC held a 29-29 tie at the intermission.
Wright State led for more than 15 minutes in the first half, including a 10-point lead with 5:53 remaining.
Senior Justin Mitchell led the Raiders with eight points, four rebounds, two assists and a steal as Jaylon Hall came off the bench to add five points.
WSU shot 33% from the field while the Flames shot 41%.
The Raiders caused 10 UIC turnovers while WSU had just four.

Second Half Highlights

UIC took an early lead of four points in the second half but the Raiders came back, leading by as much as five with just under nine minutes remaining.
The Flames did take a one-point lead late but the Raiders led the final two minutes.
Grant Benzinger ended the physical night with 11 points and 11 rebounds and a career-high four steals after just two points and four boards in the first half. It was his first double-double of the year after four last year.
Mitchell led the way with 14 points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals.
Mark Hughes connected on three threes and finished with 13 points and five assists.
Wright State's defense was strong, forcing 20 UIC turnovers but made only nine themselves.

FACTS AND FIGURES

Wright State's bench outscored UIC 18-12 but UIC scored more in the paint 28-24.
The Raiders scored 21 points off the 20 UIC turnovers.

POST-GAME REACTION

"I was just playing free tonight, and coach always tells us to play free, and if you have a shot, take it."
--Mark Hughes

"UIC is very good team and very athletic. The main reason we won the game was that we had only nine turnovers, and they had 20. I am really happy for our seniors who made big free throws down the stretch."
--WSU Head Coach Scott Nagy

NEXT UP

The Raiders will host League newcomer IUPUI Saturday at 4 pm on ESPN3 and 106.5 FM.
IUPUI is now 3-9, 0-1 after losing at Northern Kentucky Thursday night 77-59.