Raiders continue hot shooting, hit century mark in latest victory
They improve to 4-2 in HL with win at Robert Morris.
Wright State finished third in the nation in fieldgoal shooting last year at 49.6%, which is exclusive company. But coach Scott Nagy expected his team to do even better this season.
He figured the addition of Tanner Holden, who never seems to take a bad shot, would have a major impact, and that the returnees would all improve. He was right.
Going into a game at Robert Morris leading the country at 53.7%, the Raiders shot 71.9% in the first half to build a 21-point lead and hit 60.7% overall in a 101-76 victory Wednesday.
They went 12 of 20 on 3-pointers for a season-best 60%.
They’ve won three straight games for the first time this season and have improved to 9-8 overall and 4-2 in the Horizon League.
“I don’t know how to explain what’s going on with us offensively. I really don’t,” Nagy said on his postgame radio show. “Our guys are just playing well. We’ve got a lot of efficient offensive players.
“We had 19 assists and one turnover at halftime. I was pleased on both ends — even the defensive end.”
Holden had a season-best 29 points with six rebounds, five assists and five steals.
Brandon Noel had 17 points and 12 rebounds for his fourth double-double this season. A.J. Braun added 17 points and Trey Calvin had 14 points and five assists.
The Raiders topped 100 points for the fourth time this season and held Robert Morris (5-12, 1-6) to 37.1% shooting.
“Winning games like this is how you win championships,” Nagy said. “It would have been very easy for us to be flat, particularly coming off how we played at Fort Wayne. And we just weren’t.
“I can’t believe how well the guys played. I was really concerned — and I probably shouldn’t have been. They’ve earned my trust.”
In their previous three games, the Raiders shot 55.6%, 60.0 and 66.1.
They went into the game averaging 90.2 points and shooting 58.4% in league play.
After committing 35 turnovers in their last two games, they had eight.
They racked up 26 assists. They hit 23 of 32 shots in the first half and 37 of 61 for the game.