Chick Ludwig covers the Cincinnati Bengals. He also writes about his other passions: college football, basketball and golf.Home > Blogs > Chick Ludwig At Large > Archives > 2008 > March > 07 > Entry
WSU misfires at line, falls to Valpo, 72-67
They’re called free throws for a reason.
They’re free … or at least they’re supposed to be free.
But they weren’t free for Wright State on Friday night. Nothing was. Absolutely nothing.
The Raiders choked at the foul line and lost to Valparaiso, 72-67, in the quarterfinals of the Horizon League men’s basketball tournament at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
WSU converted just 7 of 16 free throws, missing the front end of several one-and-one situations down the strength, and succumbed to the Crusaders for the third time this season. The Raiders yielded at least 70 points in their trio of losses to the Indiana school coached by Homer Drew.
Raider freshman Troy Tabler stopped the bleeding with a pair of free throws with 16 seconds remaining, drawing WSU within 68-67.
But Valpo’s Jarryd Loyd was all money. He buried four straight free throws — two with 12.2 seconds to go and two more with less than a second remaining — to seal the victory.
The No. 3-seeded Raiders lost 4 of their last 5 games and ended the regular season with a 21-10 record.
All that’s left for WSU is to wait, hope and pray for a postseason berth in either the NIT or the new 16-team CBI tournament.
If not, then the college basketball careers of WSU seniors Jordan Pleiman and Scottie Wilson are over.
The College Basketball Invitational will be staged this month by The Gazelle Group, which is based in Princeton, N.J., and runs the 2K Sports College Hoop Classic that benefits Coaches vs. Cancer and the O’Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic.
The Raiders were awful at the foul line and played poor perimeter defense down the stretch. Twice late in the game, immediately after Valpo time-outs, the Crusaders nailed 3-point field goals … yes, both times.
Valpo did a good job of keeping its composure, staying cool, calm and collected at the line. Meanwhile, the Raiders crumbled by failing to convert what’s supposed to be the easiest shot in the game.
To the Raiders’ credit, they went 6-0 in one-point games this season, but all the close encounters had to take an emotional toll on the team.
It certainly appeared the Raiders ran out of gas with their late-season collapse, which cost them a No. 2 HL seed that would’ve given ‘em a free pass to the tournament semifinals. They were forced to take the long road. Along the way, they got ambushed by the Crusaders, a feisty team and a crafty coach.
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By Sheivdgla
March 15, 2008 6:20 AM | Link to this
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March 15, 2008 6:20 AM | Link to this
his utmost industry, make one pin in a day, and certainly could not make Scotland, some ancient rents, originally of considerable value, have, in