Dec. 30, 2008
• 2008-09 Men's Basketball Promotions
• Purchase Tickets
• Group Ticket Information
• 2008-09 Basketball Promotions
• Come See Us Campaign
Contact: Brian McCann
FAIRBORN, Ohio - J'Nathan Bullock scored a game-high 23 points, but it wasn't enough as Wright State became just the second team to shoot better than 50-percent from the field against CSU this year as the Raiders out-lasted the Vikings, 71-62.
The loss snaps a five-game winning streak for the Vikings and drops CSU to 10-5 overall and 1-3 in league play. The Raiders win for the fourth straight time, and seventh in eight games, improving to 1-2 in Horizon League action.
"We got out of sync in the first half and just couldn't make our shots," CSU head coach Gary Waters said. "Once we got behind, it was hard to come back against a good team like Wright State that was playing at home.
"I have to give it to our guys though because they didn't quit. Understand me. We shot 36-percent from the field, missed 23 three-pointers and got out-rebounded but we only lost by nine. That tells you a lot about this team. A lot of teams would have given up but this team didn't."
The difference in the game proved to be shooting as CSU, taking an uncharacteristic 27 three-point attempts, was just 20-for-56 from the field (.357). At the other end of the court, Wright State was on fire from the field, shooting 53.5 percent from the field (23-43), including a blistering 15-for-23 in the second half (65.2 percent).
Bullock recorded his 18th career 20-point game to lead CSU, but was a cool seven-for-18 from the field, including two-for-nine from three-point. He added a game-high nine rebounds.
Norris Cole sparked CSU, scoring all 18 of his points in the second half, including a stretch of 12 straight Viking points at during stretch midway through the half.
Cory Cooperwood led the Raiders with 15 points while Todd Brown added 13 points and nine rebounds and John David Gardner 12 points.
Trailing 27-22 at the intermission, the Vikings allowed the Raiders to take a quick 37-27 lead with 17:11 left and eventually trailed by as many as 13 (56-43, 5:51) before CSU came back.
With Cole doing most of the work, using a series of baseline drives and pull up jumpers, CSU ran off nine straight points to close to within 56-52 with 3:04 left.
After trading baskets, CSU's coming on a Bullock jumper in the lane, Wright State put the dagger in the Viking come back with Gardner scored a pair of baskets late in the shot clock to push the Raiders to a 62-54 lead with 1:21 left.
The game became a free-throw shooting contest after that and the Raiders, who opened the second half by missing their first six free throws, made 11 of 12 down the stretch to seal the win.
CSU played most of the game without sophomore D'Aundray Brown, who suffered a shoulder injury midway through the first half, playing 12 minutes without a point.
"D'Aundray's injury hurt us because he is our best perimeter defender and when he has been out of games this season, our defense suffers a bit," Waters said.
The Vikings nearly played themselves out of the game in the first half as they made just two of their first 21 field goal attempts to fall behind, 21-8 with 5:58 left in the half.
Foul trouble played into CSU's first half problems as Cedric Jackson, Norris Cole and Chris Moore and George Tandy each spent time on the bench with two foul and Wright State used that advantage to go 10-for-12 from the line in the opening stanza.
The Vikings fought back.
Trailing 25-14 with 2:49 left, CSU scored eight straight points, four of which came on an improbable four-point play by Eric Schiele, who had moments before been inserted into the game for the first time.
As the shot clock wound down, Schiele found himself with the ball deep in the right corner, he tried to side-step WSU's John David Gardner, but was bumped and instinctively launched a trey that found nothing but net at the other end to pull CSU to within 25-20 with 1:44 left.
A Tandy basket at the 1:14 mark cut the Raider advantage to 25-22 and WSU eventually led, 27-22 at the break.
The Vikings pause to ring in the new year before traveling to Detroit to face the Titans on Saturday, Jan. 3 beginning at 4:05 p.m. in Callihan Hall. The game will be televised back to northeast Ohio by SportsTime Ohio.
