Cleveland State Vikings (6-1): The Vikings used a last-second shot by senior guard Trevon Harmon to defeat the St. Bonaventure Bonnies by a score of 67-64 in a very physical and hard-fought game. After this game, the Vikings headed off on a long series of road match ups. The Vikings began with a contest against the Kent State Golden Flashes, an in-state foe. The Vikings defeated the Golden Flashes, one of the best teams in the MAC, by a score of 57-53. The Vikings then headed east to Rhode Island to play three games in the Ticket City Legends Classic. Cleveland State began by defeating Boston University by a score of 63-62 in a game in which the Vikings came back from a 10-point deficit in the second half. The next day, the Vikings lost their first game of the season against the Hofstra Pride by a score of 63-53. On Sunday, the Vikings rebounded to defeat the Rhode Island Rams by a score of 67-45. The Vikings will have three days off before their first Horizon League match up on the road against the Wright State Raiders on Thursday.

Detroit Titans (3-4): This season is quickly becoming a nightmare season for the Titans, who began the season with hopes of knocking the Butler Bulldogs from their perch atop the Horizon League. At this point, the Titans do not have enough active scholarship players to conduct a 5-on-5 scrimmage during practice. Eli Holman remains on a leave of absence as he deals with an assault charge incurred at a fraternity house, and no updates have been given on his status. Senior forward Nick Minnerath recently suffered a season-ending ACL injury. John Hoskins left the team and guards Chris Blake and Brandon Romain are academically ineligible for the fall semester. Although the Titans were able to wallop Concordia (Mich.) by a score of 113-68, the Titans proceeded to lose two of their next three games in the CBE Classic in Bowling Green, Ohio. The Titans lost to the George Washington Colonials in the first game. In the second game, the Titans lost 67-61 to the Bowling Green Falcons. The Titans eked out a narrow overtime victory against Austin Peay in the final game by a score of 94-93. Playing their fourth straight game in Ohio this past Friday, the Titans lost 81-63 to a talented Akron Zips team. The Titans will return to action Thursday night in their first Horizon League match up against the Youngstown State Penguins.

Green Bay Phoenix (2-4): The Phoenix won a home game against Wyoming by the score of 52-44. The Phoenix then took their talents to Indiana to play Indiana State. Despite the offensive struggles of standout center Alec Brown, the bench helped the Phoenix stay in the game. However, the Phoenix eventually lost in the final seconds to the Sycamores by the score of 57-56 on a late 3-pointer. The Phoenix suffered another loss two days later on the road to the Virginia Cavaliers by a score of 68-42. On Thursday, the Phoenix will begin Horizon League play with a match up at home against the UIC Flames.

Loyola Ramblers (1-4): Despite having three players score in double figures, the Ramblers lost 63-51 on the road at Furman. Rookie head coach Porter Moser finally secured his first win as Loyola’s head coach with a 64-50 victory over Fordham in the Ramblers’ first game in renovated Gentile Arena. The Ramblers begin Horizon League play on Thursday with a road match up against the Milwaukee Panthers.

Milwaukee Panthers (5-1): The Panthers continued their strong start to the reason, which is impressive in light of the fact that star player Tony Meier has not played at all this season as a result of a lingering calf injury. After two impressive home victories over IUPUI and Texas Southern, the Panthers traveled to Michigan State for a road match up against the Spartans. Although the game was close at halftime, the Spartans pulled away in the second half for a 68-55 victory. The Panthers rebounded by defeating Arkansas-Little Rock by a score of 59-54. Kaylon Williams currently leads the Horizon League with an average of 6.0 assists per game. On Thursday, the Panthers will begin Horizon League play with a home match up against the Loyola Ramblers.

UIC Flames (2-3): The Flames dropped a 65-61 decision to Division II Quincy University but followed up with a 79-75 victory over Evansville. The Flames then lost to the Toledo Rockets by a score of 82-67 in a game in which a furious second-half comeback attempt could not overcome a large first-half deficit. The Flames will return to action on Thursday in their Horizon League opener on the road against the Green Bay Phoenix.

Valparaiso Crusaders (5-2): The Crusaders continued their impressive start to the season with three wins in the 2K Sports Classic. Their first victory was a 62-59 triumph over the talented Akron Zips. The next day, the Crusaders pounded IU Kokomo by a score of 79-48. Playing their third game in three days, the Crusaders defeated the Duquesne Dukes by a score of 84-68. After a four-day layoff, the Crusaders traveled to Columbus to play the nationally ranked Ohio State Buckeyes. Although the Crusaders were only down by four points at halftime, the Buckeyes’ impressive shooting and the Crusaders’ abysmal shooting combined to produce a lopsided second half that resulted in an 80-47 victory for the Buckeyes. Ryan Broekhoff is currently tied for the Horizon League lead in rebounding with 9.3 points per game. The Crusaders will open Horizon League play with a match up against Butler on Saturday.

Wright State Raiders (2-4): The Raiders’ inexperience caught up to them during the second week of the season, as the Raiders dropped three straight games. The Raiders dropped a 78-65 decision to the Florida Gators. Two days later, the Raiders lost to North Florida by a score of 69-52. The friendly confines of the Nutter Center did not help the Raiders as they lost a close game to the Charlotte 49ers by a score of 70-66. The Raiders’ schedule will not get any easier as they begin Horizon League play on Thursday with a tough home matchup against the Cleveland State Vikings.

Youngstown State Penguins (4-1): The Penguins have continued their turnaround from last season’s disappointing campaign. Sophomore Kendrick Perry currently leads the Horizon League in scoring with 18.2 points per game and the team as a whole is dramatically improved. After a hard-fought defensive struggle against UC Riverside that ended in a 53-49 overtime victory, the Penguins headed to State College to face the Penn State Nittany Lions. Despite once again making a school-record 14 3-pointers, the Penguins fell behind early and lost to the Nittany Lions by a score of 82-71. The Penguins battled yet another Pennsylvania foe three days later when they battled the St. Francis Red Storm on the road. This time, the Penguins came away victorious by a score of 60-59 when senior DuShawn Brooks blocked a potential game-winning shot at the buzzer. The Penguins will travel to Detroit in their Horizon League opener to battle the Titans on Thursday.

Cleveland State Vikings (2-0): The Vikings shocked the nationally ranked Vanderbilt Commodores on Sunday by a score of 71-58. On Tuesday, the Vikings knocked off the Rio Grande Red Storm, an NAIA school, by a score of 86-57. Cleveland State will face another test on Friday evening at home when they square off against the St. Bonaventure Bonnies. Senior center Aaron Pogue missed Tuesday night’s match up with an undisclosed illness, and his availability for this important game is unknown.

Detroit Titans (1-1): The Titans began the season by defeating the Division II Lake Erie College Storm 95-57. On Monday, the Titans faded in the second half and lost to Notre Dame by a score of 59-53 in a game in which they led at halftime. The Titans will face Concordia (Mich.) on Friday at home. Eli Holman, whose presence is key to the Titans’ success this season, remains out indefinitely for the Titans to address personal matters, and no new information has been released about his status.

Green Bay Phoenix (1-2): The Phoenix started off the 2011-12 campaign by knocking off the University of Mary, a Division II school, by a score of 94-55. However, the Phoenix started slowly against the Duquesne Dukes on the road two days later and lost 84-66. On Wednesday, the Phoenix lost a close game on the road against North Dakota State by the score of 65-61. The Phoenix have received strong play from sophomore center Alec Brown, who posted double-doubles in his first two games and has averaged over three blocks per game to start the season.

Loyola Chicago Ramblers (0-3): Rookie head coach Porter Moser has had a rough start to his career at Loyola. The Ramblers started the season by dropping two games on the road to major conference schools. Beginning the regular season with a 67-49 loss to Illinois, the Ramblers also lost three days later to the Kansas State Wildcats by a score of 74-61. On Wednesday, the Ramblers collapsed in the second half in yet another road game and lost to Eastern Illinois by a score of 65-61. Loyola faces another game on the road against Furman Nov. 20 before returning home to the newly renovated Gentile Arena to face Fordham Nov. 26.

Milwaukee Panthers (2-0): The Panthers began the season with a 71-65 victory over Division II Southwest Minnesota State. Two nights later, the Panthers pulled out a 59-57 nailbiter against Northern Illinois. The Panthers’ solid start has come without star player Tony Meier, who has been sidelined with a calf injury and has not played this season. On Friday, the Panthers will square off against IUPUI at home.

UIC Flames (1-1): The Flames started off the season by losing to Eastern Michigan by a score of 68-57. On Wednesday, they rode the strong play of their defense to a 59-42 win against Roosevelt in their home opener. The Flames will look to earn their second win of the season against Division II Quincy University at home Saturday.

Valparaiso Crusaders (2-1): Participating in the 2K Sports Classic, the Crusaders lost their first game of the season on the road against the Arizona Wildcats by a score of 73-64. The Crusaders rebounded later in the week to win their first game of the season against Georgia Southern by a score of 90-81. On Monday, the Crusaders pounded Holy Cross (Ind.), an NAIA school, by a score of 88-38. The Crusaders will play the Akron Zips Friday at home.

Wright State Raiders (2-1): The young Wright State squad opened the season with a tough road game against nationally ranked Ohio State, losing 73-42. However, the Raiders recovered two days later against Division III Kenyon College and won 80-56 in their home opener. On Wednesday, the Raiders earned their second victory of the season at home against Jackson State by a score of 56-39. The Raiders have no games this weekend, and they will most likely spend it preparing for their match up against Florida next Monday on the road in Tampa, Fla.

Youngstown State Penguins (2-0): The Penguins have started strong in a season in which they have been predicted to improve significantly upon last season’s dismal record. The Penguins notched their first win of the season by a score of 76-69 on the road against Samford. Returning home to the friendly confines of the Beeghly Center, the Penguins won 80-62 against Division II Notre Dame (Ohio) in a game in which the Penguins sunk a school-record 14 3-pointers. The Penguins look to continue their winning ways on Friday at home against UC Riverside.

Projected starting five:

So. F Cole Darling
Sr. F Johann Mpondo
So. F A.J. Pacher
So. G Matt Vest
So. G Vance Hall

Important departures:

Vaughn Duggins: 18.0 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 2.2 apg
N’gai Evans: 13.7 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 3.3 apg
Troy Tabler: 10.9 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 1.8 apg
Cooper Land: 8.9 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 0.7 apg

The Raiders lost more talent than any other team in the Horizon League. Their main losses include Vaughn Duggins, N’gai Evans, Troy Tabler and Cooper Land.

% returning scoring and rebounding:

Scoring: 28 percent
Rebounding: 54 percent

Two starters return for the Raiders: Cole Darling and Johann Mpondo

Additions:

Brooklyn Bradley is a freshman guard who is a hometown product from Dayton, Ohio. Reggie Arceneaux is a freshman guard from North Carolina who was named to the NC Preps Class 4A All State Team. Jason Cuffee is a freshman guard from West Virginia who was first-team all-state in West Virginia. Stephen Gossard is a freshman forward from Ohio who is not expected to contribute immediately. Kendall Griffin is a freshman guard from Indiana who has been recognized by the Wright State coaching staff for his defense. Alex Pritchett is a freshman forward from Indiana who is a hard-working, physical post player. Tavares Sledge is a freshman forward from Alabama who has been described as having a unique blend of size and athleticism. Ulysses Thomas is a freshman guard and local product from Cincinnati who will play point guard for the Raiders.

Schedule highlights:

The Raiders’ biggest nonconference matchup is their first game of the year against Ohio State. In Horizon League play, the Raiders face a tough three-game patch of Butler, Milwaukee and Valparaiso.

Prediction: The Raiders lost an enormous amount of talent to graduation, and it will take some time for them to return to their previous level. They will finish eighth.

Next: Youngstown State Penguins

Back to Horizon League preview

FULL COURT SPRINTS

BASELINE TO BASELINE

LAST SHOT

1. Is the Grim Reaper pointing toward Iowa City and the Hawkeyes? Leading scorer Matt Gatens is out indefinitely after tearing a tendon in his left hand, according to an Iowa news release.
2. No zombie recruit in Louisville —the NCAA cleared freshman center Gorgui Dieng to play after the NCAA looked into his eligibility, according to a Louisville news release.
3. Yes, recruiting can get messy with the involvement of third parties. But the NCAA isn’t ready to introduce an all-out ban on summer recruiting yet, which could have all kinds of consequences, according to a CBSSports.com report.
4. Nasir Robinson needs about a month to recover from surgery on his right knee, writes Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Robinson started every Panther game last season, averaging 6.6 points and 5.6 rebounds per game.
5. Binghamton will pay former coach Kevin Broadus $1.2 million to just leave and stop haunting university officials, writes John Kekis of the Associated Press. Broadus took Binghamton to the NCAA Tournament, and the team promptly imploded with criminal mischief, recruiting violations and academic shenanigans.

Don’t get sick at Long Beach State. You might be a bubble boy, but you’re still gonna be practicing your butt off.

This is how they get down in Hong Kong. One-handed three-pointers like it’s not a big deal.

Throwback special! Maybe the best combo of Halloween and hoops in a movie.

STUDY SESSION

OPENING TIP

Wright State opens practice for a night of tricks and treats, including a costume contest. Here’s a contender.

Some ballers are just evil.

Get your undead game on.

HOME COURT ADVANTAGE

March Madness, which extends to April, is like Christmas (or Hannukah, etc.) in spring. June brings the NBA and NHL finals, plus the NBA Draft and an occasional World Cup. January has college and pro football playoffs with college basketball conference action getting started.

But October is great across the American sports landscape. College basketball practices get started, and the hype machine gets rolling into high gear as the first polls come out. NBA action returns, and this year couldn’t be more dramatic with the Miami LeBrons drawing more attention than election season races. In the NFL and college football, we’re starting to figure out the contenders and pretenders.

And if that weren’t enough, we have the World Series to demand our attention for almost two weeks. San Francisco and Texas offer a change of pace from the recent East Coast domination, but both teams are worthy contenders.

So sit back and enjoy the moment. ]]> http://www.hoopville.com/2010/10/29/full-court-sprints-scary-good/feed/ 0 http://www.hoopville.com/2010/03/09/butler-rolls-in-horizon-league-championship/ http://www.hoopville.com/2010/03/09/butler-rolls-in-horizon-league-championship/#comments Wed, 10 Mar 2010 06:27:45 +0000 Bill Kintner http://www.hoopville.com/?p=1000024232 INDIANAPOLIS – Here are the key numbers to this game: 66.7 percent, 61.5 percent and 100 percent.

Those are Butler’s first half numbers from the field (14-21), from beyond the three-point line (8-13) and from the foul line (6-6) in their 70-45 victory over Wright State in the Horizon League Championship Game.

Butler’s Shelvin Mack hit a 3-pointer at the 18:56 mark to put Butler up 3-0 and the Bulldogs never trailed in the game.

A three-pointer by N’gai Evans for Wright State pulled the Raiders within one at 6-5 with 17:18 left in the first half, but after that Butler (28-4) just kept building their lead.  The Bulldogs hit double figures for good at the 4:26 mark when Ronald Nored made two fouls shots to make it 32-21 after being fouled by Ronnie Thomas.

By halftime it was 42-28, and that 14 point spread was a close as Wright State (20-12) would get the rest of the game.

Wright State went to a zone early in an attempt to stop Butler from cutting and driving the lane as they did in the prior game they played.  However, that opened up the outside and Butler lit it up from three-point land. Mack was 4-6, Zach Hahn went 2-2, Nored went 1-1 and Willie Veasley went 1-2.

“We’re a little thin inside with some injuries and we were hoping we might slow his (Howard) game down and force Butler to make some outside shots.  The last time we played, we opened up too many driving lanes and they go to the basket and finished,” explained Wright State coach Brad Brownell.  “Tonight they made threes.  When they see the ball go in early like that, then you know it’s going to be tough.”

Butler coach Brad Stevens thought that the hot start his team had coupled with some shots Wright State missed set the stage for his team’s runaway.

“When one team shoots it great and the other team misses a few sometimes you feel a lot better,” Stevens said.  “That was the case tonight. I thought our perimeter defense was really good in the first 30 minutes and then they missed a few they usually make, coupled together you have the final score.”

In the second half Butler just kept expanding their lead until it hit 30 points at the 2:39 mark.  When Butler and Wright State emptied the benches, the Raiders closed the gap back down to 25 points.

Butler’s three victories over Wright State may have been their three best played games this year.  Stevens said it came down to respect for Wright State that drives them to prepare so well for playing the Raiders.

He said, “It begins with a great deal of respect for their program.  Our staff and players have a great deal of respect for their staff. Brad (Brownell) and their players are really good.  Every time we play them we better bring our “A” game or we’re going to get beat, we know that.”

Wright State guard Vaughn Duggins thought that Butler was well-prepared and that was key to their dominating win, along with his Raiders missing shots.

“Butler was well-prepared.  They obviously scouted our motion offense and some of our tendencies we have,” he explained.  “They were on us like glue and they’re hard to shake free.  The times we were able to shake free and get shots, we didn’t make them and that’s the more frustrating part, when you get open and can’t knock down a shot.”

One play that stand out late in the game was at the about the 9:38 mark and Butler leading by 25 points at 59-34, Howard dove into the front row of seats to save the ball, which was grabbed by Shawn Vanzant and passed to Veasley for a layup.

Stevens pointed that play out as an important indicator of how hard Butler plays no matter what the score.

“That play will be shown for the next 20 years and the teaching point is that we’re up 20 points and he plays the right way to win the possession,” said Stevens.  “I think that speaks to who he is, but it also peaks to who we all want to be everyday.”

Notes

-Butler is 43-3 in Hinkle Fieldhouse under coach Brad Stevens.

-This is the 5^th straight year for Butler and 4^th straight year for Wright State that they have achieved 20 wins.

-Butler is ranked #12 in both the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today “Top 25.”  They have been ranked each year since 2006-07.

-Former college coach Pete Gillen got here early tonight and held court at the scorer’s desk about 90 minutes before game time.  It seemed like almost everyone stopped by to talk with him.  He did the game for Westwood One Radio Network.

-Brad Brownell is 15-4 all-time in conference tournament games and 5-2 at Wright State.

-The Butler ROTC color guard had four big guys that looked like they could actually defend the country as opposed to a bunch of puny guys and little girls that you see at a lot of schools.

-Wright State had a large crowd there of well over 1,000 people.

-Wright State’s three worst losses were to Butler, with margins of 12 points, 12 points and 25 points.

-Quote of the night:  “I apologize that we didn’t play better.  We’re a better team than we showed tonight, but certainly Butler was playing at a high level.”  -Wright State head coach Brad Brownell

Wright State did all that and rolled over Detroit 69-50 in the semifinals of the Horizon League Championship.

Led by 6′ 9″ center Ronnie Thomas’ four three-pointers in four tries, the Raiders led 39-18 at the half.   The Titans shot just 38.1 percent (8-21) including 1-6 from 3-point land.

Wright State (20-11) didn’t set out in their game plan to set Thomas up to shoot three-pointers, that is just what the Detroit defense allowed the Raiders to do.

Detroit coach Ray McCallum’s game plan included packing it in around the basket to stop the easy shots, which opened things up for Raiders on the outside where they were 9-14 (52.2 percent).

“We knew they were an excellent three-point shooting team, but we wanted to take away layups.  We didn’t guard the three with our capability,” explained McCallum.  “We knew the shooters, we had them identified.  It was a quick turn around for our guys, we weren’t able to play Detroit basketball today.”

On the flip side Wright State coach Brad Brownell didn’t draw up any plays to get Thomas shots.

He said, “We didn’t try to have him be our game plan, but Ronnie has shot shots, and had some games where he made more than others.  It’s not like we told Ronnie not to shoot.  Most teams guard him out there a little differently, and if you leave him open, he’s going to make some shots.”

The game started off just fine for Detroit (20-14) when Thomas Kennedy hit a jumper to put them up 2-0.  By the 17:26 mark Kennedy hit a 3-pointer to put the Titans up by four at 7-3.  That was the biggest lead they would enjoy in the game.

Thomas hit a three-pointer at the 16:32 mark to get the Raiders within one at 7-6 and then Troy Tabler hit another to put Wright State up for good at 9-7.

Wright State got the lead up to 23 points at 36-13 with 3:03 to go in the first half.   When the teams headed to the locker room Wright State led 39-18.

In the second half Wright State expanded its lead to 25 three times, the last coming at the 6:06 mark when Scott Grote made a jumper to make the score 63-38.  After that Detroit went on a small 13-6 run to close the final point gap to 19 points.

Tabler, with 16 points in the game, felt that his team used the week off to their advantage, which helped them win tonight.

“It helped getting a week with no games, so we can focus our self in practice rather than focus on a game. This week we were able to get better as a team.”

Thomas led all scorers with 18 points, Eli Homan led Detroit with 12 points.

Butler Stops Milwaukee to Advance

For Butler, it came down to getting stops on defense, which finally caused Milwaukee to fall in the semifinals of the Horizon League Championship 68-59.

Down 29-28 at the half, Butler came out and took the lead when Matt Howard made a jump shot at the 19:22 mark.  Milwaukee’s Anthony Hill made a layup to put the Panthers ahead at 31-30.  Another Jumper by Howard at the 18:41 mark put Butler ahead 32-31, and they never trailed again in the game.

When Butler’s Shelvin Mack made a layup with 11:56 left it stretched the Bulldogs’ lead to nine at 44-35.

But Milwaukee (20-14) wasn’t giving up.  By the time Ricky Franklin hit a three-pointer with 6:22 left, the Panthers were within a point at 50-49.

As the Butler fans got a little anxious, Butler coach Brad Stevens had faith in his players, so rather than call a timeout he let them play.

A couple of free throws by Howard, a lay up by Ronald Nored, then a free throw to complete the three-point play after a foul by Milwaukee’s Ja’Rob McCallum at the 5:20 mark and Butler had some breathing room with a 55-49 lead.

Over the last five minutes, Butler (27-4) worked its lead up to double digits, then as time ran tout Milwaukee’s Burleigh Porte hit a jumper to give Butler the nine-point win.

“It was a tough game, they are a very physical team.  I give those guys a lot of credit, third game in five days,” said Stevens.  ”I thought they played with outstanding effort and they didn’t get tired.”

Hill led Milwaukee with 15 points.

Matt Howard led all scorers with 18 points, 13 of which came in the second half.

“They were giving me the ball in good spots.  I was trying to attack and get the ball up on the rim, it was working today,” explained Howard.

Butler’s Gordon Hayward had 10 points and 13 rebounds.

The tough Butler defense had Milwaukee coach Rob Jeter saying that Butler was able to play their style, while forcing his team out of how they wanted to play and that was a big factor in his team’s loss.

“We got to this point by playing a certain style, and it was too bad we didn’t get a chance to finish that style out,” Jeter said.

Notes

• Detroit is the first team to post two upsets (by seed) in the tournament since the Titans did it in 1996.
• Former Wright State great Mike Grote and his brother former Michigan State player Steve Grote were in attendance tonight, along with Bob Grote, a former Raider great and father of Wright player Scott Grote.  Mike Grote played on the Raiders’ national championship team.  Those three are some very knowledgeable fans.
• Not to be outdone, Mike Nienabor, coach at Christian Brothers University, Kirk Nienabor, the all-time assists leader at Bethel University when he graduated and Mike Price, the coach of Cincinnati Oak Hills High School, were also on hand for the game.
• Wright State is in the Horizon League semifinal game for third time in the last four years.
• Wright State’s baseball team yesterday beat the number one ranked team in the country, University of Virginia 2-1.
• Wright State fans outnumbered Detroit fans about 10 to 1.   There were almost 1,000 Raider fans in attendance.
• Wright State has reached the 20-win mark for the fourth year in a row under coach Brad Brownell.
• Wright State leads the overall series with Detroit 20-19.
• Milwaukee is making their first appearance in the semifinals since they won the 2006 championship.
• Butler’s 19-game winning streak is the longest in the country.
• Butler won their fourth straight league title this season and is hosting the tournament for the third straight year.
• Butler is 13-0 at home and 42-3 in the last three years.
• Butler leads the all-time series with Milwaukee 30-10.
• Butler is in the Horizon League Championship game for the fifth year in a row, but lost three of the last four finals, including in 2007 against Wright State.  In the HL/MCC only Xavier had a longer run of final game appearances.
• With Wright State’s win tonight the Horizon League has five 20-win teams for the first time in conference history.  Only five other leagues/conferences have as many 20-game teams this season: Big East (8), Big 12 (7), SEC (6), ACC (5) and Atlantic 10 (5).  All of those conferences have more teams than the Horizon League.

Wright State and Butler play Tuesday night at 9 p.m. on ESPN.

Wright State coach Brad Brownell decided to go with a little bigger lineup to counter the Huskies height advantage to start the game by adding 6’9” Ronnie Thomas along with 6’6” Scott Grote. Grote scored just two points and had five turnovers of the Raiders’ 16 turnovers for the game. Thomas did put in 12 points and block three shots but Northeastern (18-9) shot better and only turned the ball over six times for the game. The Huskies started Nkem Ojougboh at 6’9,” Manny Adako at 6’8” and Spates at 6’8.”

Northeastern coach Bill Coen knew that Wright State played great defense and his team patiently worked the ball around until they found an opening and then made the shots when they had to.

He said, “Our defensive intensity was back. On offense we knew we had to be patient. Wright State uses your energy against you on defense against teams when you go right at them. They do a good job of sagging and helping each other out.”

Wright State (16-12) jumped out to a 7-2 lead at the 16:20 mark on a drive and layup by Will Graham but by the end of the first half the Huskies had taken control of the game led by Spates’ 13 first half points. His jumper with 4:14 to go in the half put Northeastern up for good as they went on a 16-2 run to go up 37-24 at the half.

Wright State out-rebounded the bigger Huskies 30-23 which helped them close the gap in the second half to five points with 3:18 left in the game but 27 seconds later Allen hit a jump shot and Northeastern’s players made six more critical foul shots to shut the door on the Raiders’ comeback.

“Story of the game was our turnovers. But their execution down the stretch was good. They run some unique things that you don’t see very much,” said Brownell. “Their discipline was good, they relaxed and out-executed us down the stretch.”

For the Raiders Todd Brown score 15 points and Cory Coperwood had 10 rebounds

Game notes:

• Wright State leads the all-time series against Northeastern 2-1.
• Northeastern seems to live and die with 40 percent shooting. They are 10-0 when they hold an opponent under 40 percent, 6-10 when they do not. They were close today, holding the Raiders to 41 percent for the game.
• Northeastern needs to get a new travel agent. They had to hurry after the game to get on the road to catch a plane in Pittsburgh which is 41/2 hours from Dayton. Breaking their three game losing streak today must have made the ride seem just a little shorter.
• Northeastern’s next game is Wednesday at Drexel at 7p.m.
• Wright State’s next game is Thursday against Milwaukee at 7 p.m.

The defensive wonders for Wright State included holding UIC to just 26.2 percent shooting (11-42) for the game and also holding UIC’s first team Horizon League Player Josh Mayo to just six points and eight shots.  To stop Mayo the Raiders used N’Gai Evans some and Will Graham a lot to guard him.

Wright State coach Brad Brownell said he used Graham because of his experience and all of the little things to he brings to the games.

He said, ‘Will has just been in the battles a longtime in this league. He is never the primary player.  He is a glue guy, he holds your players together.  He will never wow you with shooting but he wows you with a lot of other plays that a lot of casual fans miss.”

Wright State player Pat Tabler added, “We were just trying to limit his touches. They do a lot of dribbling and fill behinds.  We just didn’t want to slide off of him to help”

When the game started, UIC (10-9, 3-6 HL) used the first six minutes of the game to build a five point lead on three short jumpers by Scott Vandermeer and a 3-pointer by Tori Boyd to go ahead 9-4.

At the 3:38 mark Wright State’s Troy Tabler hit a 3-pointer to put Wright State up 15-13 and they held the lead for the rest of the game.  By the time the first half ended Wright State (12-8, 6-3 HL) went up by 10 points at 23-13 on two more 3-pointers Todd Brown  and a layup by Cooper Land.

In the second half UIC cut the lead to seven points at the 16:42 mark on a jumper by Boyd making it 30-23 but that was as close as the Flames got.  Wright State just kept pushing the score up until the Raiders went up 26 points on the last bucket of the game when Land put in a layup with 44 seconds left.

After the game UIC coach Jimmy Collins appeared almost 45 minutes after the game and he hopping mad.  The delay in appearing in the media room was because he was meeting with his team in their locker room.

“I have never been so embarrassed in all my years of coaching.  I have never been affiliated with a team that wouldn’t fight, said Collins.  “Wight State has a good team and we quit. Brad does a good job with those kids.  They are spirited, they are high fiving each other and picking each other up.”

Collins said they have plays designed to get Mayo the ball but some of his players are selfish and just didn’t want to set picks for Mayo.

“Our game plan was to get people the ball, to be poised, play smart and to play together, “ added Collins.  “We didn’t do that.”

Brown led a scorers with 23 points on a 9-18 shooting performance and Vandermeer led UIC with 10 points.

Brownell was pleased with his team’s performance tonight and on Thursday against Loyola.

“Clearly one of our better performances, I am really please of how our kids played defensively,” said Brownell.  “We showed some maturity.  We struggled early just a bit offensively, but we kept our poise and pulled through.  Our kids were really ready, we played with a lot of confidence.”

Notes:

• The Raiders set a new school record by allowing only 31 points tonight breaking the 35 points record they set earlier this season against Toledo on December 9th  when they won 50-35.
• One of Wright State’s best players, John David Gardner played just seven minutes tonight and came out with an on-going nagging hip injury.
• UIC leads the all-time series with Wright State 20-19.
• UIC’s next game is Wednesday at Green Bay at 8 p.m.
• Wright State’s next game is Wednesday at Youngstown State at 7 p.m.

The final score was not a true indication of how tight the game was until the end. It took a Wright State defensive lock-down that held Loyola scoreless from the 9:46 mark until there was 2:02 left in the game to put the Ramblers away for good. In the same time frame the Raiders were not exactly shooting lights out, but they did manage to score 14 points thanks to their foul shooting, which accounted for nine of those points.

Loyola’s Walt Gibler finally got some points on the board to end the scoring drought when he made two free throws after getting fouled by Will Graham. Two more free throws by Loyola’s Courtney Stanley and the Ramblers were done scoring for the game. They made just four field goals in the second half.

“Their defense is very good, we had to have better ball movement and defend better against the three,” said Loyola coach Jim Whitesell. “We have to rebound better too. We played well for spurts, we just didn’t have enough good minutes to beat Wright State.”

Wright State (11-8, 5-3 Horizon) held a 41-30 lead at the half. The Ramblers came out and went on a 10-3 run in the first five minutes to cut the lead to 44-40 on a layup by J. R. Blount, another by Gibler and a 3-pointer by Justin Cerasoli. After that Loyola (11-9, 3-5 HL) scored just seven more points in the game.

For Wright State, in the second half Cory Cooperwood came alive to score 10 points after not scoring in the first half.

In the first half Cerasoli hit a 3-pointer 52 seconds into the game to give Loyola their biggest lead of the game at 3-0. The score went back and forth until with 11:26 left in the first half Loyola had a 17-15 lead, then 43 seconds later when Wright State’s Todd Brown hit a 3-pointer to give the Raiders the lead that would hold the rest of the game.

The game plan the Raiders used worked well. Wright State coach Brad Brownell wanted his team to concentrate on rebounding and defending Loyola’s guards and it worked pretty well with the Raiders holding a 38-30 rebounding edge and keeping Loyola’s guards from scoring in double figures.

He said, “We did what we were trying to do. Their guards are so good, you are trying to keep them from penetrating. Then you want to keep them off the glass. Offensively we tried to be aggressive and try to have a little better flow.”

Notes

• Wright State has won 11 of the last 13 games, losing only to ranked programs, Wake Forest and Butler, both on the road.
• When Loyola scores at least 70 points, good things happen. Last year the Ramblers were 7-0 hitting the 70 mark. Dating back to the 2005-06 season they are 17-2 when scoring 70 and this year they are 5-1.
• Wright State leads the all-time series 16-14.
• Loyola’s next game is on Saturday at Detroit at 1:05 p.m., and it is televised on Fox Sports Detroit.
• Wright State’s next game is Saturday against UIC at home at 7 p.m.

It was a better trip offensively than CSU had the right to expect, as finally shoot-first point guard Cedric Jackson was able to contribute at that end of the floor.  21 points at Green Bay on Thursday (7-12, 4-5 from the arc) and then 17 points (7-13) to go with 10 assists and 7 boards Saturday in Milwaukee.  And even with J’Nathan Bullock scoring 22 and 19 in the two games, CSU’s improved offense could not overcome its poorest defensive weekend of the season.  The Vikes lost 80-65 to Green Bay in a game not nearly that close, and after a furious comeback form nineteen down in the last five minutes in Milwaukee, they lost by two 77-75, when a Trevon Harmon trey rimmed and came out with less than two seconds remaining.  It has been that kind of year for the Vikings.

Needless to say, under Gary Waters CSU is known for its tenacious, stifling pressure defense, and coming into the weekend the Vikings had held 6 of their previous 10 D-I opponents to 50 points or less.  So one would have thought that 65 points in Green Bay and 75 in Milwaukee would have been enough to win at least one of those games, and maybe both.  The problem:  while CSU’s defense can grind you down over forty minutes when the Vikings have the lead, when they’re behind it becomes a reaching, lunging and fouling defense, risking everything for steals, and thus vulnerable against good teams to back-door cuts, guard penetration and lots of open jump shots.  Now, playing that kind of 100% style (as opposed to the aggressive but under control style made famous by late 70s and 80s Indiana teams and played these days by Butler and Wright State), the results can be, well, inconsistent.  The game can become a schoolyard game, and for short periods CSU can make steals and make hay against its opponent.  Witness the last 5 minutes at Milwaukee, and a similar stretch during the last 8 minutes of the first half at Green Bay, during which the Vikings returned from the dead to tie that game at the half.  In the long run, however-at least against quality opponents-playing defense that way is pure suicide, allowing a team that might have scored 55 or 60 against the Vikings to score 70 or more.  And with CSU’s poor perimeter shooting on offense, that difference is just too much to overcome.  Thus, two losses in the Wisconsin snow.

Now in the race for second, all is not utterly lost for the Vikings.  Coach Gary Waters having said that the regular season Horizon winner will have four or more losses, even if Butler doesn’t the rest of the teams in the league should, or at least could.  So, if freshman Trey Harmon improves, and sophomore D’Aundray Brown returns from his rib injury, the second half of the conference schedule is more favorable for the Vikings.  Home and home with Youngstown State (Jerry Slocum’s Penguin team is pretty darned tough at home), all three teams the Vikes are chasing for second still to play at home in Wolstein Arena, and then a season-ending rematch with Butler at Hinkle on Saturday February 28.  And both one-loss Wisconsin teams yet to play Butler at all.  So if Butler should beat Green Bay and Milwaukee twice, and if Wright State beats one or both of the Wisconsin teams on their trips to Dayton, and if CSU makes those Wisconsin schools’ trips south as miserable as they did to the Vikes going north, well, CSU can still be heading for Indianapolis for that February 28th game with a shot at the second seed, and with more to play for that day than the Bulldogs.  But first they need to right the ship with a win at Youngstown State this Friday night, a game the Vikings must win to stay in the hunt for second.  To do that they better be ready to stop YSU second guard Kelvin Bright, who has scored most of his 14 points per game on his home floor.

Horizon News and Notes:

• Both Green Bay and Milwaukee get their first looks at Butler’s freshman class this week, Green Bay playing at Hinkle on Thursday at 7 pm eastern, and Milwaukee playing there on Saturday at 2 pm eastern.
• Cleveland State plays at Youngstown State in this Friday night’s 9 pm eastern ESPNU game.
• To date still playing without Vaughn Duggins, Wright State faces Illinois-Chicago at home on Saturday night, that game to tip at 7 pm eastern.  If Duggins is ready to play this weekend, he’ll get a home warmup Thursday night against Loyola, and then face UIC.  If he’s not ready to play this weekend, expect Coach Brownell to announce a decision to redshirt him some time next week.