DAYTON – A night of runs for the Wright State men's basketball team saw the Raiders tally a 92-82 Tuesday night victory over regional foe Miami (OH) inside the Nutter Center.
Wright State (5-6), who shot a season-best 66.7 percent from the floor in Tuesday's win, closes out its non-conference schedule with a Friday afternoon matinee against Muskingum. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. at the Nutter Center.
Tuesday, the Raiders used an early 15-2 scoring run in the first half to set the tone for the night and had a stretch where they scored six of eight points late in the opening period, however Wright State trailed by four at the halftime break. After the teams traded baskets to begin the second half, the Raiders busted open an 18-2 run over a three-and-a-half-minute stretch to take a seven-point, 61-54 lead with just over 14 minutes to play.
Brandon Noel had nine of the 18 points in the run as Wright State was 7-of-8 from the floor while forcing Miami (4-6) into three turnovers.
A two-point game with seven minutes to play, the Raiders rolled off six straight points to lead 80-72 with 5:46 remaining, only to see Miami again respond. With the margin at two points again with just over three minutes to play, Wright State turned in its most impressive stretch to put the night away with seven straight points. Back-to-back possessions resulted in
Trey Calvin steals and
Tanner Holden dunks as the Raiders got the lead to nine and closed out the final two minutes.
Holden finished with a game- and season-high 27 points, including 16 in the first half, while Noel tallied his second double-double of the season with a 25-point, 12-rebound effort as he added four steals and three assists.
Alex Huibregtse added a season-high 17 points and Calvin notched 11 points while adding four assists and three steals.
Wright State connected on 38-of-57 shots on the way to the 67 percent overall shooting, adding a 14-of-17 mark (82 percent) at the free throw stripe. The 67 percent shooting marked the second time the Raiders have shot over 60 percent this season (61 percent against IUPUI) and is the team's highest shooting percentage since connecting at 72 percent last season at Green Bay.
The Raiders tallied 64 of their 92 points in the paint, compared to just 36 paint points for Miami. Bryson Bultman and Bradley Dean each had 12 points to lead Miami, who also saw Anderson Mirambeaux score 11 points.
