The Bowling Green, Ohio, product was pitted against 7-footer Adonis De La Rosa, who was averaging 5.8 points and went scoreless. Steven Davis, normally the Raiders’ tallest starter at 6-8, was assigned to fellow forward Jimmy Hall and held the Kent State leading scorer to 11 points, about nine below his average.
The Raiders (8-4) snapped a three-game road losing streak with the 68-63 win , and Nagy said he'll likely stick with that starting five tonight at Murray State (5-7).
“Parker is really our best defender,” he said. “We can put him on a multitude of players — big guys, small guys. He moves his feet great laterally. And he’s kind of an anchor for our defense when he’s in there.”
Other factors also propelled the Raiders to victory — going 12-of-25 on 3-pointers, winning the battle of the boards against a team that was out-rebounding foes by 9.5 per game and holding the opposition to 34-percent shooting.
PREVIEW: Wright State at Murray State
Another positive development was the slump-busting performance by Mark Alstork. The 6-5 junior guard, who once led the nation in scoring, had 25 points while making 10-of-21 shots, including 5-of-10 from 3-point range.
He was 20-for-82 from the field in his previous seven games.
“He hit some shots early, and that settled him down,” Nagy said. “He’s been frustrated, not shooting a great percentage. But the question for him is, if he doesn’t get off to a good start, can he get himself settled down and still do the other things required for us to be a good team?
“Really, he should be our best defender. He’s a good athlete. He’s strong. … And obviously, we’re going to need him to score.”
The Raiders still haven’t solved their turnover woes, and Nagy is beginning to believe it might be a season-long issue.
They had 18 against Kent State and are averaging 16.2, which ranks 325th out of 351 Division-I teams.
They don't have a scholarship point guard, although help is on the way. Tyler Mitchell, a 6-foot senior at Kings High School , is a Nagy recruit. He picked the Raiders over Oral Roberts and UNC-Asheville.
And the Raiders hope to sign another point guard with one of their two remaining scholarships.
“We don’t have a primary ball-handler. We’re not a great passing game. That’s just the way it is,” Nagy said. “We’ll just get it done different ways.
“The one thing we’re doing that our teams haven’t done in the past is we’re causing more turnovers (15.6 per game), so we’re making up for it.”
The Raiders are playing their last non-conference game before starting Horizon League play at Oakland on Dec. 29 and Detroit Mercy on Dec. 31.
Nagy’s message to his players is to stay hungry.
“I’ve been trying to tell the guys, ‘Special teams are happy they won, but they want more. They don’t take a deep breath and relax and go, oh, we won a game, and then get their tails handed to them the next game. The question is, do you want to be special?’” he said.
“That’s hard to be because you have to do what it takes every day, and most people don’t choose to be special. I’m trying to get these guys to choose that.”
THURSDAY’S GAME
Who: Wright State (7-4) at Murray State (5-7)
When: 8 p.m.
Radio: 106.5-FM
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