Wright State starts fast, finishes strong against Detroit

Raiders notch highest point total in league game in 26 years

The Wright State players had 60 reasons to feel good about what they accomplished in the first half Friday night against Detroit.

Then coach Scott Nagy walked in and gave them two reasons to get over themselves.

After blowing a 21-point lead against Miami and a 14-point edge on Youngstown State, the Raiders found the resolve to keep things going after building a 22-point cushion against the Titans, burying the visitors 106-88 before 3,975 at the Nutter Center.

“We do come out flat a lot of times in the second half, and we wanted to break that,” senior forward Steven Davis said. “We finally strung together a full 40 minutes, and we feel good about that.”

Davis, who was 10 of 12 from the floor, scored 15 of his career-high 27 points after halftime to help the Raiders win their second in a row and improve to 13-7 overall and 4-3 in the Horizon League.

Junior guard Justin Mitchell also netted a career high with 22 points as all five WSU starters finished in double figures to keep Detroit (4-15, 2-5 HL) from getting any closer than 17 points in the second half.

“When you get a lead like that, you’ve got to put people away,” Nagy said. “I thought we were much, much more focused in the second half. We were just much sharper.”

Junior guard Grant Benzinger was at his sharpest in the first half, scoring 16 of his 22 points to send the Raiders into the break with a 60-38 lead.

Senior guards Mark Alstork and Mike La Tulip also hit double digits despite poor shooing nights. La Tulip scored 13 despite 1 of 9 shooting from 3-point range, while Alstork scored 11 on 2 of 12 shooting before fouling out.

Here are five more things to know about Friday’s win:

Benzinger bombs: WSU was trailing 26-25 when Benzinger began a barrage of 3-pointers that sparked the Raiders to the 60-point first half.

He hit four in a row and finished 5 of 8 from beyond the arc.

“Once I start hitting shots, it spreads the defense out and we’ve got people driving the lane,” Benzinger said. “We got (Davis) some dunks. Mike La Tulip got to the free-throw line nine times, which is unheard of being an under 6 foot, little guard. Hitting those shots opened up everything else for our offense.”

Free-throw frenzy: Wright State scored 31 percent of its points at the line. The Raiders made a season-high 33 free throws on a season-high 45 attempts.

“We knew that if we took care of the ball, we would (get to the line),” Nagy said. “I wish we would have shot free throws a little better, but you’re generally going to win most games when you shoot 45 free throws.”

Ball security: Detroit came into the game leading the HL in forced turnovers since conference play began, but Wright State only committed 11, which was one shy of its season low. The Raiders had four turnovers in the first half.

“If you’re weak with it, they’ll rip it out of your hands,” Nagy said of the Titans. ” I thought our kids did a really nice job of passing the ball.”

WSU finished with a season-high 24 assists.

Century count: The 106-point outing fell shy of the season-high 109 the Raiders posted Nov. 21 against Ohio Dominican, but they are the most against a league opponent since March 5, 1991, in a 107-71 victory against Youngstown State.

Up next: Wright State will play host to Oakland at 2 p.m. Sunday. The Grizzlies beat the Raiders 81-62 in Oakland on Dec. 29, when WSU committed a season-high 21 turnovers.

“That’s why we lost,” Benzinger said.

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