Men’s basketball holds on for 64-62 win at Detroit

Sophomore guard Kendall Griffin led the Raiders with 15 points and added four rebounds in the win.

((Contributed by Wright State Athletics))

The Wright State men’s basketball team broke a 55-all tie with a 9-2 run and then held on down the stretch for a 64-62 Horizon League win at Detroit Jan. 21.

Wright State jumped out to a quick 15-3 lead just 5:34 into the contest, five of those coming from A.J. Pacher and Kendall Griffin, and maintained that advantage throughout the rest of the first half, taking a 39-30 lead into halftime following a Reggie Arceneaux layup with 14 seconds remaining.

The Raiders hit 15 of 30 shots from the field in the opening 20 minutes and made six of seven foul shots while the Titans shot 41 percent from the floor and were four of five at the stripe.

The margin grew to 11 twice after baskets by Matt Vest early in the second half, only to see Detroit chip away at the deficit and eventually tie the game at 55 on a Doug Anderson dunk with 5:03 to play.

Wright State, however, went back in front for good on a Cole Darling three-point play and after the two teams exchanged scored, extended the lead to 62-55 with 2:17 left on an Arceneaux layup and a Darling jumper.

The Titans closed to within two on a pair of Jason Calliste foul shots with 43 seconds left, but could get no closer as Wright State held on for the victory.

The Raiders again shot 50 percent in the second half to finish at that percentage for the game and hit 12 of 15 foul shots overall while Detroit shot 38 percent.  Wright State also led 32-20 in points in the paint and 20-2 in bench points.

Griffin paced Wright State with a career-high 15 points, eclipsing the 12 scored against Cleveland State on January 9, while Arceneaux had 11 and Darling 10.

Anderson led Detroit (12-8, 4-3 Horizon) with 20 points while Nick Minnerath had 12 and Juwan Howard, Jr. and Calliste 10 each.

Wright State (14-5, 5-1 Horizon), which exceeded last year’s win total with the victory Monday night, wraps up the three games in five days road trip on Wednesday with a 7:00 game at Youngstown State.