“(Oakland) kind of had the gameplan of let’s make Parker beat us,” said Ernsthausen, who hit 8 of 10 shots from the floor and 8 of 9 from the free throw line.
“It was good to see the ball go in the basket tonight,” he added. “But I definitely don’t want to lose track of my defense because that’s why I play.”
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His defense against Golden Grizzlies star Jalen Hayes was another big reason why the Raiders (14-7, 5-3 Horizon League) secured their third consecutive win by avenging an 81-62 loss at Oakland in December.
Hayes, a junior forward who averages 15.2 points per game, scored an easy layup 11 seconds in the game but notched just six points on 3 of 11 shooting after Ernsthausen came onto the floor.
“He was tremendous,” WSU coach Scott Nagy said of Ernsthausen. “We’re super happy for him the way he’s played.”
Senior guard Mark Alstork matched Ernsthausen’s output of 24 points, 16 of which came in the first half as Wright State built a 17-point lead against Oakland (15-6, 15-3), which hadn’t trailed by more than 13 all season.
“We just wanted to go out there and match their intensity, match their energy level and be able to look each other in the face at the end of the game and say we played hard,”Alstork said. “If you let them get going, it’s going to be hard to stop them. We let our defense (work) and made a couple of shots early and that followed for the rest of the game.”
The Grizzlies trimmed the deficit to 12 by halftime and sliced it to 45-39 before the first media timeout of the second half. But freshman forward Ryan Custer answered with a 3-pointer on the next possession – his only basket of the game – to spark an 18-7 run that put WSU in control for good.
Ernsthausen, who had equaled his previous career high of 10 before halftime, scored eight of the 18 points during the key spurt.
“We need him to be a little more offensive minded, and I think this will give him the confidence to do that without trying to get 20 every game,” Nagy said. “ When he’s going to get 20, it’s going to come to him like that. We need him to be able to step out and make 15-foot jump shots.”
Davis stayed out of foul trouble after getting the two early ones and hit a career-high four 3-pointers to finish with 17 points, while junior point guard Justin Mitchell grabbed a career-high 15 rebounds as WSU dominated OU on the glass, 44 to 30.
Mitchell and Alstork also had six assists apiece, several of which went to Ernsthausen.
“I just came in and tried to play my defensive role and these two (Mitchell and Alstork) found me on the offensive end,” Ernsthausen said. “That’s a little bit of a fun, too. They talked to me when I missed those two because they know that goes in the assist column. I try to do the best I can for them.”
Wright State limited Oakland to two fast-break points after the Grizzlies got 14 in transition in the first meeting. OU also hit just 5 of 20 3-point attempts.
Sherron Dorsey-Walker, who averages 17.0 ppg, led the Grizzlies with 14 points, while Nick Daniels added 10.
The WSU victory moves the team into a third-place tie with Oakland a half game behind Wisconsin-Green Bay and two games back of league-leading Valparaiso, which is where the Raiders go next for an 8 p.m. game Friday.
“That was important,” Nagy said of Sunday’s victory. “The champion’s probably not going to lose more than four games. I haven’t been involved in any conference races where a champion lost five games. You have to go on the road and win games if you want to win a championship. We know that’s what’s up next for us.”
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