Next game:
Who: Wright State (13-17, 7-10) at Cleveland State (21-9, 11-6)
When: 2 p.m. Saturday
Radio: WBZI-FM (100.3)
YOUNGSTOWN — For the first half, the Wright State men’s basketball team kept a quick-strike Youngstown State offense mostly contained and led by two points at the break.
Then the Penguins got hot, and they sealed the Raiders’ Horizon League tournament fate.
Using a 14-0 run early in the second half, Youngstown State took control and beat Wright State 61-54 in front of 1,953 on Thursday night. The loss locked WSU into the No. 8 seed in the 10-team Horizon League tournament that begins Tuesday, meaning WSU will play the first-round game on the road.
WSU got a career high-tying 13 points from guard Vance Hall and six points and 12 rebounds from forward Johann Mpondo (the only double-digit rebounding total by a Raider this season), but YSU (15-13, 10-7) shot 57.1 percent in the second half.
“They came out of the locker room on fire,” Mpondo said. “That’s what they can do.”
WSU (13-17, 7-10), which was picked eighth in the Horizon League preseason poll, has one regular-season game remaining, at Cleveland State at 2 p.m. Saturday. The Raiders have reached 17 losses for the ninth time in the program’s 42-season history, even though they led 29-27 at halftime and entered the game 7-2 this season when leading at the break.
WSU took a 32-31 lead with 18:46 left on a Mpondo free throw before the Penguins used their 14-0 run to go up 45-32 with 15:42 left. The Raiders closed to 51-47 with 6:36 left, but six straight YSU points ensured the Penguins kept the advantage.
Kendrick Perry, the YSU sophomore guard and Horizon League’s leading scorer, bundled 23 points, five assists and three steals while making 8-of-11 shots, including 2-of-4 from 3-point range. That helped send the Raiders to a fifth loss in their past six Horizon League games.
“We stood and watched in transition,” said WSU coach Billy Donlon of the deciding spurt. “You can’t, against them, or against anyone really, allow what happens on offense to affect your defense. They’re too fast.”
Two out: Starter Armond Battle, a junior forward (Achilles), and freshman guard Jason Cuffee (concussion) were not in uniform on Thursday night. WSU said Battle's availability is day-to-day, and Cuffee will also miss Saturday's game at Cleveland State.
Battle is the bigger absence for the Raiders. He entered Thursday tied with sophomore forward Cole Darling for the team lead in rebounding (3.6) while ranking third on the team in scoring (7.0). He has started 25 times in 29 appearances this season.
Vest in: Matt Vest, a WSU sophomore guard from Chaminade Julienne High School, played for just the second time in eight games after battling a left ankle injury. He finished with one rebound and one assist in eight minutes.
Around the Horizon League: Cleveland State outscored Detroit 45-26 in the second half to top the Titans 77-64 and tie Butler for second place in the league at 11-6 (21-9 overall). Both have one regular-season game remaining. CSU hosts Wright State on Saturday, and Butler travels to first-place Valparaiso at 7 p.m. today on ESPNU.
Stats: WSU shot 10-of-19 from the free-throw line. ... The Raiders grabbed 15 offensive rebounds but converted them into seven second-chance points. ... YSU forward Damian Eargle had five blocks to set a Horizon League single-season blocks record with 112.
Contact this reporter at ((37) 225-7389 or knagel@DaytonDailyNews.com.
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