Wright State University (WSU) men’s basketball fell to the University of Detroit Mercy (UDM) at the buzzer in the recent home game at The Nutter Center on Feb. 12.
WSU started off their game against UDM with confidence coming off of their Homecoming win against Purdue Fort Wayne. Guard for the Raiders, Sam Alamutu, was mentioned at the start of the game for reaching 500 career rebounds. Additionally, freshman guard Michael Cooper celebrated his birthday for this game.
The Raiders started off the first half with intensity on the court, being sure to focus on their offensive and defensive plays. Multiple rebounds were won by the Raiders, with highlight plays by sophomore wing for WSU, Andrea Holden. He had a dunk, adding to the Raiders' lead (9-5), but made a turnover shortly after.
In the first half of the game, Holden added a layup, giving the Raiders the biggest lead of the night (23-15). However, quickly after this play, the Titans found the ball in the net with back-to-back plays. Going into the second half, the score was 34-40, with UDM in the lead.
“I just felt like they wanted it a lot more than us, and we relaxed when we got up big, and they climbed their way back up,” Holden said.
At the start of the second half, UDM set the tone with their lead. The energy for the Raiders started to kick back up when Cooper made multiple three pointers and free throws, putting WSU back in the game for a tight faceoff, with both teams going back and forth with the lead.
“I feel like we kind of came out a little lackadaisical, and that’s been our big thing is just playing for 40 minutes,” Cooper said.
UDM finished with a good jumper, making the score 74-75. This was near the end of the game, with a foul on WSU giving UDM the chance to add two points to the final score, making it 74-77.
Coach Sargent reflected on the frustration of this loss.
“Giving [UDM] a ton of credit, we’re extremely frustrated and irritated to lose our home floor again, to be down seven on the glass in the first half,” Sargent said.
The team hopes to secure a home win in the next game at The Nutter Center. This will be Feb. 19 at 7 p.m. against Indiana University Indy. Following this game, WSU will have only one more home game on Feb. 22 against Robert Morris.
