The Wright State Raiders men’s basketball team will continue their revenge tour as they host the Robert Morris Colonials on Sunday, February 2 at 2ET at the Nutter Center. The game can also be seen live on ESPN Plus.
Last time out: This past Thursday night, Clint Sargent’s crew were up by as many as 18 in the first half, but they blew the lead and ended up losing a 75-72 decision at the Beeghly Center. WSU was up 50-34 at halftime until YSU eventually chipped away at the deficit and waddled back into it. Down 84-81 with 1:14 remaining, EJ Farmer nailed consecutive layups to put his team up 85-84 with 19 seconds to go, and it was YSU’s first lead since the 12:27 mark in the first half.
Keaton Norris then hit a shot with 11 seconds left to give Wright State the lead at 86-85, but Juwan Maxey responded with a bang by nailing the go-ahead three-pointer from the corner to give YSU the 88-86 with just 2.5 seconds to go. Logan Woods then threw a good inbound pass to Alex Huibregtse, who turned around and missed the potential game-winning three from the logo to end the night. It was WSU’s seventh road loss in 10 tries their sixth straight loss against Youngstown State.
Brandon Noel earned sixth double-double of the season with game-highs of 23 points and 12 rebounds. Norris scored 17 points on 3-of-5 three-point attempts, plus five rebounds and six assists. Jack Doumbia had 14 points, three rebounds and four assists off the bench, but he turned it over five times. Huibregtse finished with 12 points of his own, but shot 4-of-12 on three-pointers. Also, Michael Imariagbe made a bucket to reach 1,000 career collegiate points.
The Raiders shot well as a team throughout the night as they hit 56.1 percent of their overall shots (32-of-57), 40.7 percent of their threes (11-of-27), and 78.6 percent of their free throws (11-of-14). Out of their 11 made threes on thr evening, nine of them came in the first half.
The Penguins made 47.5 percent of their overall shots (29-of-61), 32.3 percent of their three-pointers (10-of-31), and 74.1 percent of their free throws (20-of-27). They were led by Farmer’s 23 points, seven rebounds, and four assists off the bench. That was followed by 17 points from Ty Harper, 15 points from Maxey, and 10 points from Cris Carroll. Nico Galette did a little bit of everything with 15 points, six rebounds, five assists and three steals.
About the opponent: Robert Morris (16-7, 8-4 Horizon), who has won six straight games, is currently tied with Purdue-Fort Wayne for second place in the Horizon League standings. Andrew Toole’s Colonials are coming one of the most dominant performances in school history as they torched IU Indy 106-53 at home last Thursday night with seven players – including all five starters – scoring in double-figures.
Alvaro Folgueiras is tied for 4th in the country in total rebounds (233) and tied for 11th in the nation in rebounds per game (10.1), while Kam Woods leads the Horizon League in steals per game (2.1) and is currently tied for third with 38 total steals.
Last matchup: On January 12, WSU and RMU met at the UPMC Events Center in a game that went down to the wire as the Colonials ended up with the 75-72 win. One note about this game is that Huibregtse missed the game with a back injury and didn’t travel with the team.
Noel led WSU with 16 points (6-of-14 FG), nine rebounds, and four assists; Keaton Norris had 10 points and four assists, but shot 4-of-10 from the field; and Michael Imariagbe finished with seven points and six rebounds in just 13 minutes of action.
Five Colonials scored in double-figures led by Folgueiras’ 16 points along with his seven rebounds and four steals. 15 points for Josh Omojafo, 13 points each for Amarion Dickerson and D.J. Smith, and 11 for Ryan Prather Jr. Woods flirted with a triple-double courtesy of four points, but seven rebounds, five assists, and a pair of steals as well.
Wright State starting lineup (from their last four games)
• Brandon Noel, F (6-8/240, 5th-year R-Jr.) – 18.7 ppg, 7.2 rpg, spg, bpg, 35.6% 3-PT, 79.6% FT
• Andrea Holden, W (6-6/215, Fr.) – 5.4 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 1.3 spg, 14.6 mpg in eight games (four starts)
• Alex Huibregtse, G (6-3/205, R-Sr.) – 14.7 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 3 apg, 39.6% 3-PT (2nd in Horizon), 77.5% FT, played and started 22 games
• Logan Woods (6-5/185, R-Soph.) – 7.5 ppg, 44.8% 3-PT
• Keaton Norris, G (6-0/175, R-Jr.) – 7.9 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 4.7 apg, 1.3 spg, played and started 20 games
Wright State men’s rotation players
• Jack Doumbia, F (6-6/195, R-Sr., Norfolk State transfer) – 12.6 ppg, 6 rpg, 1.2 spg, 0.8 bpg; started nine games
• Michael Imariagbe, F (6-7/220, Sr., Houston Christian transfer) – 5.2 ppg, 4.2 rpg in 22 games (11 starts)
• Solomon Callaghan, G (6-2/195, R-Fr.) – 5 ppg, 31.4% 3-PT in 22 games (two starts)
• Andrew Welage, G (6-6/205, Gr.) – 3.5 ppg, 12.5 mpg in 22 games; did not play on Thursday (coach’s decision)
• Drey Carter, F (6-8/210, R-Soph.) – 3.1 ppg, 1.3 rpg, 9.5 mpg in 20 games (one start)
Rest of Wright State’s roster: https://wsuraiders.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster
Robert Morris starting lineup (from their last five games)
• Alvaro Folgueiras, F (6-9/215, Jr.) – 12.9 ppg, 10.1 rpg, 3.2 apg, 1.3 spg, 1.1 bpg, 78.6% FT
• Amarion Dickerson, G/F (6-7/185, Jr.) – 10.3 ppg, 6.3 rpg, spg, 2.5 bpg, 52.5% FG; started 19 games
• Josh Omojafo, G (6-5/200, Jr.) – 11.2 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 82.9% FT
• Kam Woods, G (6-2/185, R-Sr., North Carolina State transfer) – 14.3 ppg, 4.7 apg, 2.1 spg in 18 games (16 starts); fourth school in five seasons, previously played at Troy University and North Carolina A&T
• D.J. Smith, G (6-0/160, R-Jr., Bowling Green transfer) – 8.9 ppg, 2.7 apg, 41.3% 3-PT, started 20 games; started his NCAA career at Arkansas-Little Rock
Robert Morris rotation players
• Ryan Prather Jr., G/F (6-5/205, R-Soph., Akron transfer) – 8.8 ppg, 38.3% 3-PT; started 10 games
• Ismael Plet, F (6-8/230, Gr., Arkansas-Pine Bluff transfer) – 5.2 ppg, 3.4 rpg, started four games; started his NCAA career at Oral Roberts
• Antallah Sandlin-El, F (6-8/205, R-Fr.) – 5 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 9.6 mpg in eight games
• Dilen Miller, G (6-4/185, Fr.) – 2.7 ppg, 0.8 spg in 22 games
• Chris Ford, F (6-5, 200, Sr.) – 0.6 ppg, 1.9 rpg, 8.9 mpg in 18 games; played his freshman year at Davidson where they made the 2021-22 NCAA Tournament
Rest of Robert Morris’ roster: https://rmucolonials.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster
Wright State notes
• Noel and Huibregtse have the Horizon League’s top two effective field goal percentages, with Noel at 59.2 percent and Huibregtse behind him at 58.9 percent.
• Norris ranks 28th in the NCAA with a 2.85 assist-to-turnover.
• WSU ranks 26th in the NCAA as a team with a 37.89 three-point percentage.
