Wright State defeats Mt. Saint Joseph

Trailing by one at the half, the Wright State men's basketball team took control over the final 20 minutes to defeat Mount St. Joseph 58-49 Sunday afternoon at WSU's Nutter Center.

A 15-0 run gave Mount St. Joseph an 18-7 lead with 7:46 remaining in the first half before the Raiders followed with a 10-0 burst of their own, half of those coming from Jerran Young.  The margin then seesawed between one and three before two Tavares Sledge free throws cut the WSU deficit to 22-21 at the half.

The Lions shot 44 percent from the field in the opening 20 minutes, including four of seven from three-point range, compared to 35 percent for Wright State, who did not make a three attempt in seven tries.

Mount St. Joseph led 30-29 on a David Mann layup with 14:35 to play before the Raiders took control with a 19-5 run over the next seven minutes,a run that featured eight more points from Young and five by Reggie Arceneaux.

The Lions closed to within seven on two occasions over the final 5:34 of the contest, but could get no closer as six more Young points helped seal the Raider victory.

Wright State made 17 of 32 shots in the second half to finish at 46 percent overall while Mount St. Joseph hit for 61 percent the final 20 minutes to end up at 53 percent for the game, including eight of 14 three-pointers.  The Raiders led 40-16 in points in the paint, 16-3 in second-chance points, 28-20 in points off of turnovers and 16-0 in fast-break points as they forced the Lions into 29 turnovers while committing 15.

Young led all scorers with 24 for WSU, 16 in the second half, and also had six steals while Miles Dixon had 10.  Sledge added eight points and seven boards.

Mann paced Mount St. Joseph (5-6) with 16 points while Joel Schudder had 14.

Wright State (9-4) opens Horizon League play on Thursday, January 3, as the Raiders host Green Bay at 7:00.