Men’s basketball beats Cleveland State, now 3-0 in Horizon League

((Contributed by Wright State Athletics))

Junior forward Jerran Young led the Raiders in scoring with 23 points in 21 minutes played.

The Wright State men’s basketball team improved to 3-0 in Horizon League play Wednesday night, dominating the first half en route to a 69-53 win over Cleveland State at Wright State University’s Nutter Center.

A Matt Vest four-point play and a three by Cole Darling gave the Raiders a 7-0 lead and Tavares Sledge added a free throw before Cleveland State picked up its first points of the night on a Bryn Forbes jumper with 14:38 remaining in the first half.

A Forbes three cut the Viking deficit to four before Wright State broke the game open with 10 straight points, including triples from Darling and Jerran Young, to go up 24-10 at the 6:23 mark.  Wright State maintained a double-digit advantage the rest of the period, taking a 35-17 halftime lead following a Young three-point play in the closing seconds.

The Raiders shot 46 percent in the first half overall and were seven of 13 from three-point range while the Vikings shot 26 percent and were two for 12 from behind the arc.

CSU closed to within nine early in the second half, but would get no closer as Wright State answered with seven unanswered points to push the margin back into double figures and later had an 8-0 run to extend the lead to 55-36 with 9:16 to play.

The win gives Wright State (12-4, 3-0 Horizon) its best overall start since the 1989-90 squad also started the season 12-4.  The 3-0 league start is the best since the 2005-06 campaign, when the Raiders won their first four.

The Raiders shot 45 percent overall and were nine of 20 from three while Cleveland State shot 37 percent and were seven of 20 from three.  WSU also led 24-14 in points off of turnovers.

Young led all scorers with 23 off the bench for Wright State, 14 coming in the first half, as the junior forward was eight of 11 from the field, three of four from three, and added six rebounds and three steals.  Kendall Griffin chipped in 12 points.

Forbes paced Cleveland State (9-8, 1-2 Horizon) with 15 points.

Wright State now hits the road for four straight, starting on Friday, January 11, at Loyola.  Game time is 9:00 Eastern and the contest will be televised live on ESPNU.