Men’s basketball team to face East Carolina in CIT

Senior forward Cole Darling led Wright State with 21 points, including a perfect 10 for 10 at the free throw line against Cleveland State in the Horizon League semifinals.

For the second straight year, the Wright State men’s basketball team will play in a post-season tournament as the Raiders will play at East Carolina in the first round of the CollegeInsiders.com Tournament (CIT) Tuesday, March 18, at 7 p.m.  Wright State advanced to the semifinals of the CBI last year.

This will be the Raiders’ fourth appearance overall in a NCAA Division I tournament since moving up starting with the 1987–88 season. Wright State previously played in the 1993 and 2007 NCAA Tournaments. This will be the first matchup ever between the two schools.

“We are excited about the opportunity to continue to play this season,” Wright State head coach Billy Donlon said. “Our seniors really wanted to keep wearing the Wright State uniform.  They realize just how special it is to be a Raider. We want to thank President Hopkins, Dr. Abrahamowicz and Bob Grant for allowing us to continue to play.”

Second-round CIT games will be played March 21–22, quarterfinal games March 25–27 with the semifinal games on April 1 and the championship game to follow on April 3. Semifinal contests and the title tilt will be televised by CBS Sports Network. All games will be played on campus sites.

The Pirates finished the regular season with an overall record of 17–16 and assured themselves consecutive non-losing seasons for the first time since recording four-straight winning seasons from 1993–97. ECU defeated UTSA in the first round of the 2014 Conference USA Championship and then fell to tournament host UTEP in round two.

Wright State compiled a 20–14 overall record and finished third in the Horizon League with a record of 10–6. The Raiders are coming off a 69–63 loss in the league championship game Tuesday night.