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Short-handed WSU drops third straight

Short-handed squad wilts under Detroit’s hot shooting and pressure.

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By Kyle Nagel, Staff Writer Updated 10:45 PM Saturday, January 21, 2012

DETROIT — As the Wright State basketball team warmed up in Calihan Hall on Saturday morning, a quarter of its available scholarship roster was not in uniform.

Leading scorer Julius Mays has a left Achilles tendon and calf injury. Sophomore guard Vance Hall sustained a concussion in practice. Freshman forward Tavares Sledge didn’t play because of a coach’s decision.

Sometimes, coach Billy Donlon said, such absences can spur better play. It didn’t happen on Saturday.

Short-handed and hoping to shake the funk of a disappointing trip to Wisconsin last week, Wright State trailed by as many as 25 points in losing 69-53 to Detroit in front of 2,247.

After the high of a 5-1 stretch capped by a win against Valparaiso two weeks ago, the Raiders (9-12) lost their third straight game to drop into a tie for sixth place in the Horizon League at 4-5 with Detroit (10-11) at the midpoint of the conference season.

“We just need to be better, be more consistent,” said junior guard John Balwigaire, who started for the third time this season and scored eight points. “It’s about getting back to what we were doing well, just keep working.”

Against the decreased WSU guard depth, the Detroit’s starting backcourt trio of Chase Simon (16 points), Ray McCallum (13) and Jason Calliste (12) combined to shoot 15-of-30, including 9-of-18 from 3-point range, with 13 rebounds, 10 assists and six steals among them.

Cole Darling led Wright State with 10 points and nine rebounds, but Detroit jumped to a 38-25 halftime lead and shot 60 percent for the game.

By the end, with orange marker scrawled on the left pocket of his white dress shirt (an intentional move at halftime he declined to explain), Donlon said he was frustrated with his team’s offense and its response to Detroit runs.

“I thought the first six minutes or so we did some positive things,” he said. “Then we had a little adversity, and we didn’t handle it well.”

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

Next game:

Who: Illinois-Chicago (6-13, 2-7) at Wright State (9-12, 4-5)

When: 7 p.m. Wednesday

Radio: WBZI-FM (100.3), Info 1660 AM

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