Men Hold On for 69-63 Win Over UIC

((Contributed by Wright State Sports Information))

Vaughn Duggins scored a career-high 28 points and Wright State held off a late UIC rally as the Raiders defeated the Flames 69-63 in Horizon League action at Wright State’s Nutter Center Saturday night.

WSU jumped out to a 12-4 lead, the last seven of those points scored by Duggins, only to see UIC score seven straight and eventually go up 15-14 on two Dipanjot Singh free throws with 9:02 remaining in the first half.

Two foul shots and a three by Duggins, though, put the Raiders back in front and WSU later put together an 18-4 run, seven coming from N’Gai Evans and six by AJ Pacher, en route to a 37-23 halftime lead.

Wright State shot 48 percent in the first half, including five of nine from behind the arc, compared to 33 percent and one of six three-point shooting for UIC.

The Raiders led 46-30 on a Pacher foul shot with 14:23 remaining before the Flames went on a 12-1 run, half on a pair of Robo Creps threes. WSU, however, gradually built the lead back into double figures and was up 61-47 on a Johann Mpondo dunk at the 4:25 mark.

The margin was still nine at 63-54 until two more Creps three-pointers made it 65-60 in the final minute. Wright State, though, held on as Evans hit four foul shots down the stretch to counter a deep three from Creps in the final seconds.

UIC shot 52 percent in the second half, seven of 12 from three-point range, to finish the game at 44 percent overall while WSU was also at 44 percent for the game. The Flames also held a 38-22 rebounding edge, 12-5 on the offensive end, which resulted in a 14-4 differential in second-chance points.

The Raiders, however, made 17 of 19 at the foul line compared to 13 of 18 for UIC and forced 19 turnovers while committing only eight, resulting in a 23-8 edge in points off of turnovers.

Duggins led all scorers with a career-high 28 points, besting the 26 he had against Green Bay on New Year’s Day and at Milwaukee on January 30. Evans added 18.

Kreps paced UIC (6-18, 1-11 Horizon) with 20 points, 16 coming after halftime, while Paul Carter posted a double-double of 18 points and 11 rebounds.

Wright State (16-9, 9-4 Horizon) concludes the three games in five days swing on Monday, February 7, as the Raiders host Youngstown State in a 7:00 contest.