Men Roll to 76-63 Win Over Loyola

((Contributed by Wright State Sports Information))

N’Gai Evans scored 22 points and three other Raiders scored in double figures as Wright State jumped out to a 39-27 halftime lead en route to a 76-63 win over Loyola in Horizon League action Thursday night at Wright State’s Nutter Center.

Threes by Matt Vest, Evans and Vaughn Duggins gave WSU a 9-0 lead just 2:45 into the contest.  The Ramblers cut the deficit to 20-15 on an Andy Polka layup at the 10:12 mark, only to see the Raiders followed with a 13-2 run over the next 8:23, six by Johann Mpondo, to build their biggest lead of the game at 33-17.

Wright State led 39-27 at the half after shooting 55 percent from the field in the opening 20 minutes, including five of nine from behind the arc, while Loyola shot 41 percent but was just one of six from three.

WSU led by as much as 16 on three different occasions in the second half in maintaining a double-digit lead until two Geoff McCammon foul shots made it 62-54 with still 3:46 to play.

A Cole Darling layup and two Evans baskets, however, pushed the margin back up to 14 and the Ramblers would get no closer than 12 the rest of the way.

Wright State continues its strong shooting in the second half, hitting for 55 percent overall and was four of eight from three while Loyola finished the night at 40 percent, but was just three of 16 from three.

Evans led all scorers with 22 points and added six rebounds and five assists.  Mpondo had 15 points, Vest 13 and Duggins 11.

Ben Averkamp paced Loyola (13-10, 4-8 Horizon) with 17 points while McCammon had 14 off the bench.

Wright State (15-9, 8-4 Horizon) continues the three-game homestand on Saturday, February 5, against UIC starting at 7:00.