Two teams that took similar but different roads to Indianapolis converged on Tuesday to see which one would take the Horizon League Tournament title and with it, an NCAA Tournament bid.
For Wright State, team primarily comprised of freshman and sophomores, along with senior Michael Imariagbe and transfer Bryan Etumnu, took little time to gel before the conference schedule started, and aside from a couple of bumps in the road, won the outright regular season championship and the No. 1 seed in the tourney, eliminating Cleveland State and Northern Kentucky to get to the last game.
Detroit Mercy, like the Raiders, started with a similar roster makeup, except the Titans had the advantage of retaining the services of Orlando Lovejoy and Legend Geeter. And while the road was a little bumpier for Detroit Mercy, it snagged a No. 3 seed at earned a spot in the finals, courtesy of wins over Milwaukee and Robert Morris.
The two teams split the regular season games between each other, with Wright State taking the win at Calihan Hall, and the Titans returning the favor in the Raiders’ home. Both games were tight, so the expectations for the finals pointed to this being anyone’s contest.
And it certainly was.
In the end, the Raiders relied on a pair of running themes that have been key to their overall success this season: Their ability to find scoring from anywhere on their bench, namely two clutch three-pointers from Logan Woods, and their defense, which Kellen Picket displayed when he swatted away what could have been the game-tying shot by Lovejoy.
And with that, Wright State beat Detroit Mercy, 66-63, to clinch the Horizon League tourney title for the first time since 2022.
“It’s kind of been our team throughout the year,” said coach Clint Sargent, who has now won a tournament championship as an assistant as a head coach with with Raiders. “Each guy has had a moment where they’ve stepped up and not only played well, but hit big shots. And I think that’s a credit to our environment where they they’re not afraid to fail. They can step into big moments and know they have the support from me or staff and their teammates.”
“Of course, it’s disappointing,” said Titans head coach Mark Montgomery. “But at the same time. I’m definitely proud of my guys. They’re a possession away from possibly winning a game. […] Give Wright State a lot of credit to come from behind.”
Wright State came out leading 9-3, capped by an and-one by TJ Burch. But Detroit Mercy wouldn’t go away quietly, though, and kept it close midway through the first half. But a combination of turnovers and cold shooting resulted in a four-minute scoring drought, allowing the Raiders to stretch their advantage to seven.
Even as the Titans got back on the board, Wright State seemed to have an answer every step of the way. It wasn’t until Lovejoy started heating up, personally scoring 10 points straight for Detroit Mercy, that things got much tighter, with the game tied with 2:43 left in the half.
A TJ Nadeau jumper put the Titans ahead with 1:12 left, and Lovejoy dropped a layup in the waning seconds, which padded the Detroit Mercy edge to 29-26 at halftime.
In the second half, Nadeau continued his hot streak, rattling off seven straight points to extend the Titan lead to eight with 15:44 remaining. After the under-16 break, he added three more, courtesy of being fouled behind the arc, putting UDM ahead by 11.
The Raiders, of course, weren’t going away. Using the defense that made them the top team in the league, Wright State fought back, and a pair of Pickett free throws tied it all up. That set up the pair of three-pointers from Woods, which the Raiders a six-point lead and set up the fight that would end with Pickett’s block of Lovejoy and Imariagbe’s ensuing split of a pair of free throws with 0.5 seconds left that sealed the title.
Burch, who was named tournament MVP, finished the game with 19 points, Pickett finished with 17, and Imariagbe added 15 for Wright State. Lovejoy would finished the game with 26 points, and Nadeau chipped in 21 for the Titans.
In addition to Burch, Lovejoy was named to the All-Tournament team, as did Geeter, Cooper and Northern Kentucky’s LJ Wells.
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