Raiders Drop Heartbreaker to Butler 63-62

By Mike Klingshirn

DAYTON, Ohio – The Wright State Raiders suffered a heartbreaking 63-62 defeat at the hands of the Butler Bulldogs in front of an ESPN-U television audience and 6,588 fans at the Nutter Center on Friday night. The victory moved Butler (9-7, 3-1 HL) into a six-way tie, atop of the early season Horizon League standings. The loss snapped Wright State’s four-game winning streak.

This contest had fans on the edge of their seats from start to finish. It was a classic, high intensity, Horizon League battle. Neither team was able to build more than a four point lead throughout the entire contest. The game saw twenty lead changes, and the score was tied 16 times.

Wright State (8-9, 3-2 HL) last led by four, 37-33 with 14:14 left to play. Butler then went on the only real run of the game, with a 10-2 spurt, putting them up 43-39 with 9:15 to play.

With the scored tied 54-54, Julius Mays, who scored eleven points over the final five minutes of the game, drained a three-pointer to give WSU a 57-54 advantage with 1:55 remaining. Butler’s 6-foot-11 Andrew Smith responded with a trey on his team’s next trip down the court, to even the score.

Mays then hit a pair of free throws to put WSU back on top 59-57 at 1:07. Twelve seconds later, Andrew Smith, who was just 7-of-24 for the season from behind the arc, nailed his second consecutive trey in a span of about 30 seconds, giving Butler the edge at 60-59 with under a minute left.

Mays missed a jumper on the ensuing possession. Butler’s Ronald Nored grabbed the rebound, was fouled, and hit both free throws to extend the Bulldog lead to 62-59 with 30.5 seconds to play.

John Balwigare attempted a trey from the right side, but was fouled with 21.6 seconds remaining. That sent him to the charity stripe with a chance to tie the game. With ice water in his veins, Balwigare calmly swished all three attempts, evening the score at 62.

With the shot clock off, Butler milked the game’s final seconds, until Nored drove down the right side of the lane. A blocking foul was called on Armond Battle, who couldn’t quite get into position to take the charge, sending Nored to the line for two free throws with 2.7 seconds left. Nored made the first shot to put the Bulldogs up by one point, but missed the second shot badly. The second missed shot was ruled an intentional miss by the officials, giving the Raiders the ball under Butlers’ basket.

Did Nored miss the free throw by design? “Yes, you’ve got to miss that,” said Butler head coach Brad Stevens. “They’re going to shoot a three, so it doesn’t matter if you’re up two or one. It’s a no-brainer to miss that. Just don’t foul on the rebound. If they try to score it from there, they’ve got a second, going in the wrong direction.”

With one last chance to score, Cole Darling inbounded a pass to Julius Mays, who drove the court and fired up a runner, twenty-five feet away at the buzzer. His shot appeared to have a chance, but it deflected off of the back of the iron, sending the Raiders to a crushing 63-62 defeat.

“I thought it was good,” said Mays. “When it hit the rim, I thought that it was going to stay in, but it rimmed out.”

Mays played a terrific game. He scored 24 points, hitting 6-of-9 from the field, including 2-of-2 from 3-point land. He connected on 10-of-11 from the charity stripe, grabbed seven rebounds, and did an outstanding job of guarding on defense.

It’s early in the year, but might Julius Mays be a Horizon League player of the year candidate? “Twenty-four (points), seven (rebounds) — it seems like he made every play at the end,” said Brad Stevens. “He’s on my short list. That’s for sure.”

Johann Mpondo and Reggie Arceneaux scored in double figures for the Raiders with 12 and 11 points respectively. Andrew Smith (19), Khyle Marshall (14), and Ronald Nored (11) led the way for the Bulldogs in scoring.

Butler was outstanding at finishing plays near the rim, while the Raiders were not. The Bulldogs outscored Wright State 38-20 in the paint. Although Butler hit just 3-of-16 shots from beyond the arc, they connected on 23-of-30 two-point attempts.

The Raiders shot 20-of-48 from the field (41.7 percent) and 16-of-19 from the line. Butler won the battle of the boards 28-25. The Bulldogs committed 21 turnovers to 18 for WSU.

Wright State returns to action Sunday afternoon for a 3:00 contest with Valparaiso.

Postgame Audio

WSU’s Mays and Mpondo

WSU’s Donlon

Butler’s Coach Stevens and Smith

Photos © and Courtesy of Tim G. Zechar