Dayton Daily News recap
http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/sports/college-basketball/raiders-finish-1-2-on-road-trip/nT5dm/Raiders finish 1-2 on road trip
By David Jablonski
Staff Writer
YOUNGSTOWN — Before Wright State left on its five-day, three-game journey to Valparaiso, Detroit and Youngstown State, coach Billy Donlon recalled a stat that made him wary: In the NBA last season when teams played three games in five days, they lost the third game 90 percent of the time.
Donlon wasn’t going to use bus lag as an excuse Wednesday after the Raiders lost 68-61 at Youngstown, but after looking like a contender for the first two games on this trip, the Raiders played their worst game in January. They trailed for the last 38 minutes and never got closer than four points in the last 15 minutes.
Forward AJ Pacher said Donlon told the team after the game, “We played 80 good minutes against Valparaiso, and we played 40 bad minutes tonight.”
Wright Sate (14-6) finished 1-2 on the road trip, losing 69-63 at Valparaiso on Saturday and beating Detroit 64-62 on Monday. Youngstown (11-8, 3-3) beat the Raiders for the second straight season at the Beeghly Center.
“It was definitely an emotional first two games,” guard Kendall Griffin said. “That’s still not an excuse. We didn’t have the mindset we needed to win this third one. We didn’t play well enough to win. They played hard. They weren’t intimidated.”
Jerran Young had 10 of his team-high 18 points in the final two minutes. Griffin had seven of his nine points in the first half. Reggie Arceneaux scored all eight of his points in the second half.
The Raiders shot 40 percent in the game and 38 percent in the second half, but those numbers were skewed somewhat by the fact that they made five of their last six shots after Youngstown had stretched its lead into double digits.
The game was decided earlier. After the Raiders had trimmed Youngstown’s lead to 46-42 with 6:51 left, Youngstown responded with a 3-pointer by Blake Allen on the next possession. The Raiders didn’t score on their next three possessions as the Penguins built a 54-42 lead.
“They tried to do what we asked them to do offensively,” Donlon said. “We threw the ball inside and scored 36 points in the paint. We probably missed 10 layups, and if you make half of those when it matters, it’s a different game.”
Damian Eargle scored 18 for Youngstown State. Allen had 17. Kendrick Perry, the team’s leading scorer on the season with 15.7 points per game, had 14.
Youngstown shot 50 percent from the field and 57 percent in the second half.
“I told the guys in the second week of December, you have to make your identity as a defensive team,” Donlon said. “Tonight we didn’t. Youngstown deserves a lot of credit. They’re very good at the offensive end. If you don’t stick to your rules and principles, they make you pay.”
Tavares Sledge didn’t start and didn’t play in the first half because he was sick, but he played 10 minutes in the second half and had five points. Pacher drew the start, his first since the third game of the season, and scored four points.
Wright State returns to action Saturday with the first of three straight Horizon League games at the Nutter Center. It hosts Illinois-Chicago at 7 p.m., and it’s Blackout Night. The first 5,000 fans receive black T-shirts.
“It’s huge,” Griffin said. “Our whole motto has been to defend the Nuthouse. We’ve got to play another good UIC team. There are no easy games in the Horizon League.”
