Raiders Use Comeback to Defeat Vikings

Monday, February 19

Wright State Nutter Center

7:30 PM

Wright State University

21-8, 13-3HL

Cleveland State

8-22, 5-12HL

Cleveland State

Wright State

Photo by: R. Keith Cole

2/19/2018 3:28:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Highlights Grant Benzinger Mark Hughes Loudon Love Scott Nagy PDF Box Photo Gallery

By: Communications

The Wright State men's basketball team, down by as many as eight in the second half, rallied late to defeat Cleveland State Monday night 72-63 at WSU's Nutter Center.

Four Raiders scored in double figures as Grant Benzinger, on his senior night, led the way with 20 points, including five threes. Mark Hughes finished with 16 points and six rebounds and Loudon Love ended with 15 points and six boards. Parker Ernsthausen had 10 points.

The Raiders are now 21-8 overall and tied with NKU atop the Horizon League standings at 13-3. CSU drops to 8-22 and 5-12. The Raiders have only won 13 league games twice, in 2007 and 2016.

GAME SUMMARY

First Half Highlights

The Vikings went to the locker room with a 36-33 lead.
Ernsthausen had all of his 10 points in the first half, going 5-5 from the line
Love had nine points while Benzinger added eight points.
WSU shot 52% and outrebounded CSU 14-12 but did not have any steals and seven turnovers.
There were eight lead changes in the first 20 minutes.

Second Half Highlights

CSU was up by six points with 16:00 to go.
At 8:56, Cleveland State was up 59-57 as the Raiders went on a 14-0 run.
Wright State shot 48% from the field in the second half, including five threes.
The Raiders shot 80% (12-15) from the line.
Hughes knocked down 14 of his 16 points in the second half.

FACTS AND FIGURES

Wright State outscored the Vikes 28-16 in the paint but CSU's bench outscored the Raiders 15-9.
There were nine ties and 11 lead changes.
Benzinger also finished with 6 rebounds and five assists.
Cleveland State's largest lead was eight points while the Raiders led by 12 late in the game.

POST-GAME REACTION

"The first half, their guards whipped our guards and beat us up. Give them credit. The second half we fought back and we need to play a full 40 minutes at that level."
        --WSU head coach Scott Nagy

"The whole game, I felt we would win. I have great confidence in my teammates who can step up at big moments."
        --Grant Benzinger

"Coach Nagy talked about making it a great senior night for Grant and Trey plus they beat us the first time so it was important since they mean a lot to us and we wanted to end their careers at the Nutter Center the right way."
        --Mark Hughes

"We need to be more consistent with our energy and play two halves hard. When we do, we are a great team."
        --Loudon Love

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