Wright State University (WSU) took the court at the X-Finity Mobile Arena for the first round of the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship against the University of Virginia (UVA) on Friday, March 20.
The Raiders and the Cavaliers played a close and electric game that kept both sides on their feet with the back-and-forth. The game had 18 lead changes and was tied 11 times total.
WSU was unable to stop Jacari White, number 6 for UVA, who had a total of 26 points and was six for eight on his three-point shots, which helped finish the game with a score of 73-82 UVA.
Head coach, Clint Sargent, made his first appearance as the head coach at the NCAA tournament and clarified how he felt about the team’s game play.
“I thought the game kind of came down to the glass and those extra possessions. Obviously, with their size and rim protection, it is a lot to handle for us," Sargent said. “I was very pleased with their energy.”
The Raider fans got fired up by Solomon Callaghan, number 13, who was four for six on the three-point shots he took, acquiring 18 points total. Callaghan closely followed Michael Imariagbe, number 33, as the leading scorer of the game. Imariagbe had a total of 19 points for the game and was five for nine on his threes, which got the raider fans loud and on their feet.
Callaghan talked about how the fans added to his game play.
“It means a lot to have that base behind me, it encourages me to keep doing what I’m doing, and adds a little bit of extra motivation, so I appreciate them for sure,” Callaghan said.
The WSU team not only showed dedication, but communication on the court as they were making smooth plays and getting points on the board, while continually maintaining high energy in order to keep up with the Cavaliers.
Imariagbe talked about why connection is key in games like those.
“I feel like we were well connected off the field which brought it on court, and as you guys can see we became a good team, we made history here at [WSU],” Imariagbe said.
Imariagbe added that the team had been building connections for months now.
“In June, we were running on the football fields doing all sorts of things together. Waking up at 6 a.m., I feel like that really brought us close together, made our team chemistry way stronger,” Imariagbe said.
Despite the outcome of the tournament game, the WSU men’s basketball team finished the season with an overall record of 23-12, making history at the institution.
