The Wright State Raiders men’s basketball team (4-4) will take the court for a post-Thanksgiving cookout on Saturday, November 30 as they host the Air Force Falcons at 7pm at the Nutter Center in just the third-ever Stars, Stripes, Flight Classic. The Raiders won the first-ever meeting between the two clubs 76-61 on December 8, 2010 at the Nutter Center, while the Falcons won the very next contest 55-34 on December 7, 2011 at Clune Arena.
Last time out: Last weekend, Clint Sargent’s crew competed in the Myrtle Beach Invitational and settled for fourth place, beating Princeton on Thursday before losing to Bradley on Friday and South Florida on Sunday.
About the opponent: Air Force comes into the Nutter Center with an overall 2-5 record. Last season, they finished 9-22 overall and an abysmal 2-16 in Mountain West play, settling for 10th place in the conference. This season, they were picked to finish 11th and last place in the Mountain West preseason polls and have not made the NCAA Tournament since 2006. Their only two returning starters are Beau Becker – who made his season debut in Wednesday’s loss to Sacramento State following an undisclosed injury, and one of the best all-around players in the country in Ethan Taylor. Other starters for Air Force include Wesley Celichowski and Jeffrey Mills, along with key subs in Caleb Walker and Luke Kearney.
Air Force head coach profile: Joe Scott is in his second stint and ninth season overall as the man in charge of the Falcons program, returning to Colorado Springs on March 31, 2020. In his first stint (2000-04), he led them to a Mountain West Conference Tournament Championship in 2004 and a spot in the NCAA Tournament. Scott was also the head coach for three seasons at Princeton (2004-07) and nine more seasons at the University of Denver (2007-16) where he led them to the Second Round of the 2013 NIT before leaving in 2016 as the winningest coach in Pioneers history (146). Scott was also an assistant coach for Monmouth (1991-92), Princeton (1992-00), Holy Cross (2016-18), and Georgia (2018-20).
Wright State starting lineup
• Brandon Noel, F (6-8/240, R-Jr.) – 20.8 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 1.3 spg, 1.6 bpg, 84.4% FT; made the Myrtle Beach Invitational All-Tournament Team
• Michael Imariagbe, F (6-7/220, Sr., Houston Christian transfer) – 5.3 ppg, 3.5 rpg
• Alex Huibregtse, G (6-3/205, R-Sr.) – 16.1 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 3.1 apg, 0.9 spg, 40% 3-PT FG
• Logan Woods (6-5/185, R-Soph.) – 9.3 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 1.9 apg, 46.4% 3-PT FG
• Keaton Norris, G (6-0/175, R-Jr.) – 6.9 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 4.9 apg, 1.9 spg
Wright State rotation players
• Jack Doumbia, F (6-6/210, R-Sr., Norfolk State transfer) – 9.4 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 1.6 apg, 1.5 spg, 61.1% FG
• Solomon Callaghan, G (6-2/195, R-Fr.) – 4.9 ppg
• Andrew Welage, G (6-6/205, Gr.) – 3.1 ppg, 1.6 rpg
• Drey Carter, F (6-8/210, R-Soph.) – 3.1 ppg, 1.8 rpg
Rest of the Wright State roster: https://wsuraiders.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster
Air Force starting lineup
• Wesley Celichowski, C (7-0/245, Soph.) – 9.6 ppg, 2.3 rpg, bpg
• Ethan Taylor, G (6-5/205, Sr.) – 19.3 ppg, 7.6 rpg, 4.3 apg, 1.6 spg, 42.4% 3-PT; leads the country in minutes per game (38.6)
• Byron Brown, G (6-5/210, Sr.) – 2.7 ppg, 2.6 rpg
• Jeffrey Mills (6-4/200, Sr.) – 9.6 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 4.1 apg
• Sam Duskin, G (6-4/180, Fr.) – 4.6 ppg, 2.3 rpg, spg
Air Force key reserves
• Caleb Walker, F (6-9/240, Soph.) – 8.1 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 62.9% FG
• Luke Kearney, F (6-7/215, Soph.) – 7.4 ppg,
• Kyle Marshall, G (6-4/190, Fr.) – 4.6 ppg, 2.4 rpg, spg
• Sam Springer, F (6-7/215, Fr.) – 2.4 ppg in two games off the bench; missed the first five games due to recovering from foot surgery in the summer
• Beau Becker, F (6-7/210, Sr.); started all 31 games last year, but missed the first six games of this season before playing just six minutes on Wednesday
Rest of the Air Force roster: https://goairforcefalcons.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster
