Wright State Wrongs Oakland, Wins 96-75

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Play-by-play: Justin Sheppeard

Color: Noah Stalker

Studio: Kaylah Snell

The Oakland Golden Grizzlies fell devastatingly to the Wright State Raiders at the OU Credit Union O’Rena. The final score was 96-75.

Oakland entered this game following a defensive road win against the Robert Morris Colonials. Oakland was able to follow up an offensive masterpiece against IUPUI with a defensive shutdown of the Colonials. They hoped to carry the two phenomenal performances against the Jaguars and the Colonials into the toughest remaining game of the Grizzlies’ schedule.

The Raiders came into this game off a 93-78 win over the Detroit Mercy Titans. The Raiders’ offense, which has been the class of the Horizon League this season, fell into a slump before the Titans game, and had a 50-point second half to put the punctuation mark on the contest and seemingly fall back into their groove. They also seemed to seek vengeance for the near miss the last time Detroit Mercy played Wright State, and they likely were chomping at the bit to take on Oakland.

The first three minutes of the contest was a feeling-out period between Oakland and Wright State, with no one giving any space to set the tone for the contest early. A jumper by Trey Calvin sparked a 13-5 run for the Wright State Raiders. AJ Braun and Alex Huibregtse for Wright State carried the momentum for the Raiders during this run. A layup by Braun made it an 11-point lead for Wright State with 9:58 to go in the first half. Oakland battled back to close out the half, and a three by Oakland’s DQ Cole gave Oakland a 38-37 lead heading into halftime.

Wright State came out guns a blazing with an 8-0 run to start the second half, and a 14-2 run up to the first media timeout. AJ Braun and sophomore forward Brandon Noel took the reigns and brought the lead to 14 following 2 Noel free throws after the under-12 timeout. Oakland was unable to find their footing on either side of the basketball and with 7:54 left in the game, Wright State took a 21-point lead. After a free throw by Drey Carter gave Wright State its 90th point of the contest with 2:11 remaining, the Raiders seemed poised to score 100. Oakland was unable to shorten the lead at all, and ultimately fell. 

Wright State, following this statement win, showed why they are a team built for the Horizon League Tournament. They will look to win their fourth-straight game as they head home to take on the Purdue-Fort Wayne Mastodons in the penultimate game of their regular season.

Oakland, despite losing this game, won a share of the Horizon League regular season championship, and will look to win it outright as they prepare to take on the Detroit Mercy Titans in the home tilt of the Metro Series.

WXOU’s next broadcast will be on Saturday March 2nd, when the women’s basketball team ends their regular season against the IUPUI Jaguars. They’ll be fighting for a home game in the Horizon League Tournament. This will be the first of a season-finale doubleheader as the men play on the same day at 6:00pm. Tune in for live coverage on WXOU!