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Raiders Persevere to Pull Out 65-64 Thriller Over Green Bay

By Mike Klingshirn
Dayton, OH - Perseverance is a word that can be used to describe this season's Wright State Raider men's basketball team. Perseverance is defined as -- to persist in anything undertaken; maintain a purpose in spite of difficulty, obstacles, or discouragement; to continue steadfastly. That word can also be used to describe their effort in pulling out a 65-64 thrilling victory over the Green Bay Phoenix (22-9, 13-5 Horizon) in front of 6,465 at the Nutter Center.

Photos � and Courtesy of
Tim G. Zechar

March 1, 2009
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Box Score

"Our guys have battled from day one, and tonight was just another example that we were going to persevere and find a way. I'm really proud of them. We've done it not only tonight, but we've done it for four months."
- WSU Coach Brad Brownell

Although Wright State trailed for most of the first 30 minutes of action, this contest was close the entire way. The largest lead for either team in this game was just 6 points. Green Bay led by 6 on a couple of occasions in both halves. The Raiders largest lead of 4 points didn't come until 26 seconds remained to be played.

Wright State endured a five minute scoring drought late in the first half, but somehow managed to go into the halftime locker room trailing by just 1 point at 27-26. Ronnie Thomas did his job to keep his team close by scoring 9 first half points on 3-of-5 shooting from the field.

The Raiders struggled to get the lead, but with 10:37 to play, Cory Cooperwood hit a jumper to put the Green and Gold on top 42-41. That lead would be short-lived. In fact, any lead over the remainder of the contest would be short-lived. There were 12 lead changes and 5 tied scores over the final 10 minutes of play.

The contest see sawed back and forth to the very end. With 59 seconds left, Todd Brown was fouled on a driving lay-up to the hoop. He hit the bucket and the free throw to put WSU in front 61-59.

In what may have been one of the best defensive stands of the year, Wright State forced an over-and-back call against the Phoenix to regain possession of the ball with 0:29 to play. Scott Grote was fouled on the ensuing inbound pass. We went to the charity stripe in a situation similar to the UIC contest, played a couple of games ago. He hit both shots of the double-bonus to give the Green and Gold their largest lead of the game at 63-59.

With a four point lead and 26 seconds left to be played, it looked like the Raiders were about the claim victory number 18 of the season. Unfortunately, it didn't look that way to the Phoenix. Ryan Tillema was fouled five seconds later, and scored his 27th and 28th points at the free throw line. Green Bay pressed Wright State's inbound play, stole the ball, and Troy Cotton hit a driving shot, while drawing a foul on Scott Grote. Cotton converted the 3-point-play for his 22nd point of the game to put the Phoenix back on top 64-63 with 16 seconds to play.

Wright State quickly pushed the ball down court. With the ball in his hands, N'Gai Evans drove towards the hoop for a spinning lay-up. He hit the shot, and Wright State was up 65-64 with 9 seconds left.

In a hurry, without calling time-out, Green Bay attempted to win at the buzzer. The Raider defense did not allow the Phoenix to get a good look at the basket. Their final shot attempt was tipped, and Wright State came away victorious to the delight of a frenzied Nutter center crowd.

Following the game Wright State head coach Brad Brownell praised his team. He said "I'm really proud of this group. I've coached teams that have had a little more success and maybe won a championship, but I don't know if I've coached a group with this kind of resiliency and perseverance. Our guys have battled from day one, and tonight was just another example that we were going to persevere and find a way. I'm really proud of them. We've done it not only tonight, but we've done it for four months."

Todd Brown led Wright State (18-12, 12-6 Horizon) in scoring with 19 points. Ronnie Thomas pitched in with 11. Cory Cooperwood, Troy Tabler, and Scott Grote had 8 points each. N'Gai Evans, who hit the game winning shot, added 7. Cooper Land and Will Graham pitched in with 2 points apiece. Graham led WSU in rebounding by grabbing 8 boards.

Wright State led in bench scoring (18-0), points off of turnovers (22-10), and points in the paint (30-20). They were out-rebounded (36-29).

The Raiders shot 42% from the field (24-of-57), 22% from beyond the arc (5-of-22), and 80% from the free throw line (12-of-15). The Green and Gold had 12 assists, while turning the ball over 10 times. Wright State converted 16 Green Bay turnovers into 22 points.

Ironically, tonight's game was only the third contest of the season that was decided by 5 points or less. The Raiders are 2-1 in those games, and 2-0 in 1-point games.

With the victory, Wright State improves to 18-21 in the all-time series against Green Bay. Brownell holds a 5-2 record against the Phoenix. The last time that UWGB beat the Raiders at the Nutter Center was on January 5, 2004 by a score of 53-46.

After beginning the season with six straight defeats, and the loss of two key players with season ending injuries, the Wright State Raiders finished the regular season with an 18-12 record. They also ended in a tie for third place in the Horizon League. The Green and Gold will be the #4 seed in the league tournament.

Horizon League Tournament:

The Horizon League tournament begins on Tuesday March 3 at the Nutter Center. Wright State's opponent will be Valparaiso. Game time will be 7:00. Go to www.wsuraiders.com for the dates, times, and locations of any additional tournament games.