Mays uses scoring burst to help WSU

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By Kyle Nagel, Staff Writer 11:13 PM Sunday, January 8, 2012

FAIRBORN — Sometimes, the light of Julius Mays’ mind goes on. Or, more specifically, the voice.

“I kind of talk to myself in my head when I get a burst of energy, and it’s, ‘All right, it’s my time, I gotta go,’ ” said the Wright State junior guard.

In several Raiders games this season, Mays has produced standout stretches of offense, and he did it again Sunday in Wright State’s 73-55 win against Valparaiso. He scored 21 points, the fifth time in the past six games he has reached at least 20 (WSU is 5-1 in those games), with an important burst.

After Valparaiso cut the Raiders’ lead to five points at 45-40 with 12:48 left, Mays scored 12 of the next 20 Raiders points to help them reach a 63-49 advantage with 2:59 left. He also made 8-of-8 free throws on Sunday, giving him a 87.9 percent clip (51-of-58) from the line in his past 10 games.

Signee watches: Wright State signee J.T. Yoho, a senior at Eastern Greene High School near Bloomington, Ind., attended Sunday’s game with father Jeff, mother Sandi and brother Trevor. On Saturday, he was named the MVP of the eight-team Greene County Invitational, which his team won to improve to 9-1.

Yoho is one of three signees in the WSU recruiting class, along with forward Jacoby Roddy of Peoria (Ill.) Manual High School and guard Joe Thomasson of Thurgood Marshall High School. Thomasson is planning to sit out next season and join the program on scholarship in 2013-14.

City change: Freshman Reggie Arceneaux, who went to high school in Charlotte, N.C., but is originally from New Orleans, asked that his hometown now be announced as New Orleans when he is introduced in the starting lineup. On the roster, his hometown is listed as Charlotte.

Dynamic duo: Valparaiso’s versatile pairing of 6-7 junior Ryan Broekhoff (15.1 points, 9.1 rebounds per game) and 6-8 junior Kevin Van Wijk (15.1, 5.8) was effective on Sunday, combining for 31 of Valpo’s 55 points on 11-of-17 shooting and 18 rebounds (Broekhoff tied his career high with 14 rebounds). But in the second half, as WSU outscored the Crusaders 42-22, they combined for nine points.

Around the Horizon League: Detroit (8-10, 2-4) went up early and knocked off visiting Butler (9-8, 3-2) on Sunday, 76-65. The result moved Wright State into fourth place in the league at 4-2 behind a three-way tie for first.

Youngstown State (9-6, 4-1) scored a 71-50 victory against Illinois-Chicago on Saturday for its best conference start as a member of the Horizon League (joined in 2001). The Penguins are tied with Cleveland State (14-3) and Milwaukee (11-6) for first place.

Playing defense: Valparaiso entered the game as the Horizon League’s top scoring team at 74.6 points per game, but the Crusaders scored 55 on Sunday. That tied their second-lowest output of the season and was just the sixth time in 17 games the Crusaders didn’t reach at least 73 points.

Stats: WSU made 13-of-14 free throws in the second half and 17-of-22 in the game. ... The Raiders tied their season low with nine turnovers.

Etc.: WSU will play three road games at Milwaukee, Green Bay and Detroit before returning to the Nutter Center on Jan. 25 against Illinois-Chicago.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-7389 or knagel@DaytonDailyNews.com.

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