The second annual Stars, Stripes, and Flight Classic featured the Wright State Raiders and Air Force Falcons on Monday night at a sold-out Nutter Center with a crowd of 10,500 fans, which is the largest attendance for any Raiders home game since 1999. It also served as Wright State’s home opener while honoring Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, the U.S. Air Force, veterans, and other active-duty military. On the court, the Raiders opened the 2026-27 season with a bang by blowing out the Falcons 102-71.
“Tonight’s a great example of when your university and athletic department lock arms,” Wright State head coach Clint Sargent said after the game. “What a great night, in my eyes, to give back to the community.”
Wright State junior Dominic Pangonis scored 27 of his career-high 30 points in the first half while shooting 9-for-10 from the field and 6-for-7 from three-point land. He also recorded four assists and three steals without committing a single turnover. “My teammates were finding me, and the banks went in, so I knew it was gonna be a good day,” he said about his career game. “We were up 30 at halftime, but I think it started with our defense. We let up too many points, honestly. But if we sustain that defensive goal we have each game, I feel like we’ll be a good team.”
Junior Andrea Holden notched a double-double with a career-high 20 points, shot 7-of-10 from the floor, tied another career-high with 11 rebounds, and swatted a pair of shots for the new-look Raiders. Sophomore Kellen Pickett finished with 13 points and five rebounds to go along with three rejections, and Charlotte transfer Chadlyn Traylor recorded a game-high seven assists to go along with his six points. Freshman Noah Lewis contributed 15 points, seven rebounds, and six blocks in just 21 minutes off the bench while shooting 7-of-8 from the field in his NCAA debut as well.
The Raiders shot 59.4 percent (38-of-64) from the field, 43.3 percent on threes (10-of-23), and 76.2 percent (16-of-21) on free throws. They also recorded 52 points in the paint, blocked 12 shots, and outrebounded the Falcons 42-36.
Freshman Grant Best and sophomore Kam Sanders led the Falcons with 17 points each, with a career-high 12 points off the bench from junior A.J. Patterson, and 11 points and eight rebounds from senior Caleb Walker. Sanders added five rebounds, while Best also led the team with three assists and four steals in his NCAA debut. Walker also shot 5-of-10 from the foul line, but he attempted every one with just one hand.
Air Force shot 32.4 percent (22-of-68) from the field, 26.9 percent (7-of-26) on threes, and 62.5 percent (20-of-32) at the charity stripe.
Both teams recorded 11 points off turnovers.
Wright State, the defending undisputed Horizon League champions, never trailed in the contest and never had their lead cut down to more than 14. The Raiders opened up to a double-digit lead at 13-2 at the 16-minute mark after an 8-0 run with a Pangonis three, a Holden layup, and a four-point play from Pangonis.
Later on, WSU’s lead grew to 29-8 after another 8-0 run with a Lewis dunk, another made three and some free throws from Pangonis, and another Holden layup.
Wright State’s lead grew to 29 before the intermission. After Walker made a foul shot with 1:24 remaining in the opening half, Green Bay transfer C.J. O’Hara drilled a triple before Lewis tipped it in off an O’Hara miss. Then, Pangonis stole the inbound pass and took it to the tin right before the buzzer sounded.
The Raiders shot 69 percent (9-of-13) from three-point range in the opening half, while Pangonis was a perfect 6-for-6 from beyond the arc.
31 seconds into the final stanza, Pickett finished an old-fashioned three-point play to cap off a 10-0 run for the green and gold. The Raiders would hit the century mark and end the night by scoring the final seven points of the game with a three from DePaul transfer Ilija Milijaševic, a two from Traylor, and a dunk from redshirt freshman Isaiah Williams.
Air Force had a much better second half as they scored 40 points and made 70 percent (14-of-20) of their attempts at the foul line. First-year head coach and former NBA player Joe Crispin saw his squad score 71 points, which is the most points in a debut by a Falcons head coach since Hank Egan on December 1, 1971, when they scored 104 points against Division II opponent Regis University.
Up next: Wright State will host Florida Atlantic on Friday, November 6 at 7:30pm ET at the Nutter Center.
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