Benzinger shines in Raiders’ road win COLLEGE BASKETBALL WRIGHT STATE 80, DETROIT MERCY 73 (LATE FRIDAY)

DETROIT — Grant Benzinger made a career-tying six 3-pointers and scored 23 points and Wright State held off Detroit Mercy for an 80-73 victory on Friday night.

Benzinger was 6 of 12 from the arc, leading a 9-of-20 3-point showing for the Raiders (11-5, 3-0 Horizon League). Cole Gentry scored a career-high 14 points, and freshman Loudon Love added 13 points and a season-high 14 rebounds for his fifth double-double.

The Raiders, who have won four straight games overall, are off to their best start in league play since the 2012-13 season when they started 4-0.

“It’s hard to believe how well we played in the first half and how bad we were in the second when we came out with low energy,” Wright State coach Scott Nagy said. “Any road win in conference play is a big win. We made big plays when we needed it. The defense got locked in, and it helped our offense and helped us win.”

Tariq Jones came off the bench to score 15 points and grab nine rebounds, both career highs, for the Titans (4-12, 0-3). Kameron Chatman added 13 points and 12 rebounds for his sixth double-double this season.

Benzinger scored nine points in a 14-0 run on the Raiders’ way to a 43-27 halftime lead. They led by 12 when the Titans gradually closed to a point, 70-69, with four minutes left.

Benzinger hit a 3-pointer and Gentry scored for a six-point lead with 1:23 to go.

From there, two free throws by Parker Ernsthausen and three points from Justin Mitchell were enough.