Evans’ Big Day Helps Wright St. Knock off Butler 69-64

N'Gai Evans scored a career-high 26 points in the win for the Raiders.

Watch YouTube video of Wright State win over Butler

((Contributed by Wright State Sports Information))

Wright State outscored Butler 14-4 over the final 4:13, including 8-2 in the closing minute, as the Raiders rallied past the Bulldogs 69-64 in Horizon League action at Wright State’s Nutter Center Sunday night.

Threes from Matt Howard and Shelvin Mack gave Butler a quick 6-0 lead and the Bulldogs held the advantage until WSU tied it at 15 on a Cooper Land three with 10:45 remaining in the first half. The Bulldogs went back out in front 21-17 on four Andrew Smith points, but Wright State hung close and took its first lead of the night at 28-27 on another Land triple at the 3:25 mark.

The score was knotted two more times until baskets from Howard and N’Gai Evans in the final minute tied it at 34 going into halftime.

Butler shot 52 percent in the opening 20 minutes compared to 43 percent for WSU, but the Raiders held a 7-2 edge in points off of turnovers and 6-1 in second-chance points.

The game was tied five more times in the early stages of the second half before the Bulldogs used a 7-2 run, five coming from Mack, to go up 60-55 with 4:32 to play.

A foul-line jumper by AJ Pacher started Wright State on its comeback and after a Troy Tabler steal and fast-break layup, a Land layup gave the Raiders a 61-60 lead at the 1:22 mark.

Howard gave Butler a one-point edge on a jumper with 1:03 to go, only to see WSU take the lead for good at 64-62 on an Evans three-point play at the 46.8-second mark.

After the Bulldogs came away empty on their next possession, Evans hit two foul shots with 29.2 seconds left to put the Raiders up four. Butler, however, had a chance to tie it as a Zach Hahn jumper and Wright State making just one of four free throws gave the Bulldogs the ball down just 67-64 with 14 seconds remaining.

Mack appeared to have tied the game with a three from the top of the key with eight seconds to go, but the shot rattled out and after Tabler grabbed the rebound, he hit two free throws at the 2.6-second mark to seal the victory.

Both teams finished with 23 field goals on 51 attempts for 45 percent, with Butler hitting five of 18 from three-point range compared to four of 17 for Wright State. The difference, though, came at the foul line as the Raiders were 19 of 27, 12 of 17 in the second half, while the Bulldogs were 13 of 18.

Butler held a 35-27 rebounding advantage, but only led 7-6 in second-chance points while WSU outscored the Bulldogs 16-4 in points off of turnovers in forcing 15 while committing only eight.

Evans led all scorers with a career-high 26 points on eight of 10 field goal shooting, making all eight of his attempts inside the arc, and connected on 10 of 12 at the line. The senior guard’s previous high was 24 against Richmond earlier this season on November 26.

Land added 13 points for the Raiders while Duggins had 10 along with six rebounds.

Smith paced Butler (13-6, 5-2 Horizon) with 15 points and eight boards while Howard and Mack each had 12.

Wright State (12-7, 5-2 Horizon) now hits the road for four games over the next two weeks, starting with a trip to Northeast Ohio to take on Youngstown State on Thursday, January 20, at 7:45 followed by Cleveland State on Saturday, January 22, at 2:00.