DDN: Titans send WSU packing
Mar 5, 2005 5:58:53 GMT -5
Post by Big D on Mar 5, 2005 5:58:53 GMT -5
Titans send WSU packing
Raiders can't buy a bucket down the stretch in 61-48 loss
By Marc Katz
Dayton Daily News
MILWAUKEE | Detroit's large cheerleader contingent and superior pep band didn't mean much Friday. What did was the Titans' better play in the final 12 minutes of a basketball game that moved Detroit into the third round of the Horizon League tournament and ended Wright State's season.
The score was tied with 9:24 to play, but Wright State scored one field goal in the final 12 minutes Friday night on the way to a 61-48 loss to Detroit at U.S. Cellular Arena, home of the regular-season Horizon League champion U. of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Panthers.
"We had some good looks and didn't knock them down," said sophomore point guard DaShaun Wood, who led the Raiders with 15 points, 12 in the first half.
Zach Williams — WSU's only senior — scored with 12:23 left to tie the game 39-39, and the game was tied again at 41-41 with
9:24 left on a Wood free throw, but the only other basket following Williams' for the Raiders came from Wood with 43 seconds to play. In between, the Raiders missed nine consecutive shots in a slow-paced game.
By the time Wood scored, the Raiders were down 55-48 and the cause was lost.
So, for the second straight season, Wright State ends even, 15-15 (last year's record was 14-14). The team was also 8-8 in regular-season league play and won a first-round league tournament game over Butler.
It was not enough to appease Wood, even though even casual observers would say the Raiders made improvement.
"But we didn't accomplish anything," Wood said, "So I don't know where those strides are."
"They're not coaches," coach Paul Biancardi said of his players, Wood in particular. "That's the way they should feel. But we played a tough schedule, and I thought we played it well."
Detroit and Wright State split their two games doing the regular season, each winning at home. This game was played at a neutral site in front of only a few hundred fans, although the Titans had the advantage of being the home team and the No. 3 seed, which meant they didn't have to play a first-round game.
Wright State was the No. 6 seed and had to beat Butler at home on Tuesday to reach this round.
Overall, Detroit's 12-15 record did not match WSU's, but the record doesn't always match the ability.
Also, Brandon Cotton had to sit out the first eight games as a transfer as the Titans went 2-6 without him. They are now 11-9 with him. His contribution against the Raiders was a game-high 19 points, but the points that made a difference came from others.
Biancardi thought a 3-point shot by Muhammad Abdur-Rahim with 2:44 to go was the turning-point basket, giving Detroit a 50-43 lead.
Prior to that, however, the Titans scored on three straight layups — two off offensive rebounds — to take a 47-41 lead. Torvoris Baker made the first of those baskets on a rebound and Ryvon Covile made the next two, one of them on a rebound.
Covile at 6-foot-9 and Baker at 6-7 had a little size on the Raiders, but Covile said size was no big thing.
"The size didn't matter," Covile said. "It was all about heart. We just had to put our heart in it and that's what we did."
Heart out-rebounded the Raiders 31-23.
Defense was also a factor, whether the Raiders got good shots or not. Zakee Boyd, the team's second-leading scorer, was 1-of-7, finishing with two points. Drew Burleson, the team's third-leading scorer, was 1-of-6. Wood, 4-of-6 the first half, was 1-of-4 the second. As a team, the Raiders shot 35 percent, their second-worst shooting night of the season.
"Wood is the engine that runs the team," Detroit coach Perry Watson said. "In the first half, he was breaking us down. I thought we did a much better job on him in the second half."
By winning, Detroit earned a semifinal berth vs. Wisconsin-Green Bay tonight. In the other game, Milwaukee hosts the winner of Friday's second game between Illinois-Chicago and Loyola.
www.daytondailynews.com/sports/content/sports/wsu/daily/0305wsubb.html
Raiders can't buy a bucket down the stretch in 61-48 loss
By Marc Katz
Dayton Daily News
MILWAUKEE | Detroit's large cheerleader contingent and superior pep band didn't mean much Friday. What did was the Titans' better play in the final 12 minutes of a basketball game that moved Detroit into the third round of the Horizon League tournament and ended Wright State's season.
The score was tied with 9:24 to play, but Wright State scored one field goal in the final 12 minutes Friday night on the way to a 61-48 loss to Detroit at U.S. Cellular Arena, home of the regular-season Horizon League champion U. of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Panthers.
"We had some good looks and didn't knock them down," said sophomore point guard DaShaun Wood, who led the Raiders with 15 points, 12 in the first half.
Zach Williams — WSU's only senior — scored with 12:23 left to tie the game 39-39, and the game was tied again at 41-41 with
9:24 left on a Wood free throw, but the only other basket following Williams' for the Raiders came from Wood with 43 seconds to play. In between, the Raiders missed nine consecutive shots in a slow-paced game.
By the time Wood scored, the Raiders were down 55-48 and the cause was lost.
So, for the second straight season, Wright State ends even, 15-15 (last year's record was 14-14). The team was also 8-8 in regular-season league play and won a first-round league tournament game over Butler.
It was not enough to appease Wood, even though even casual observers would say the Raiders made improvement.
"But we didn't accomplish anything," Wood said, "So I don't know where those strides are."
"They're not coaches," coach Paul Biancardi said of his players, Wood in particular. "That's the way they should feel. But we played a tough schedule, and I thought we played it well."
Detroit and Wright State split their two games doing the regular season, each winning at home. This game was played at a neutral site in front of only a few hundred fans, although the Titans had the advantage of being the home team and the No. 3 seed, which meant they didn't have to play a first-round game.
Wright State was the No. 6 seed and had to beat Butler at home on Tuesday to reach this round.
Overall, Detroit's 12-15 record did not match WSU's, but the record doesn't always match the ability.
Also, Brandon Cotton had to sit out the first eight games as a transfer as the Titans went 2-6 without him. They are now 11-9 with him. His contribution against the Raiders was a game-high 19 points, but the points that made a difference came from others.
Biancardi thought a 3-point shot by Muhammad Abdur-Rahim with 2:44 to go was the turning-point basket, giving Detroit a 50-43 lead.
Prior to that, however, the Titans scored on three straight layups — two off offensive rebounds — to take a 47-41 lead. Torvoris Baker made the first of those baskets on a rebound and Ryvon Covile made the next two, one of them on a rebound.
Covile at 6-foot-9 and Baker at 6-7 had a little size on the Raiders, but Covile said size was no big thing.
"The size didn't matter," Covile said. "It was all about heart. We just had to put our heart in it and that's what we did."
Heart out-rebounded the Raiders 31-23.
Defense was also a factor, whether the Raiders got good shots or not. Zakee Boyd, the team's second-leading scorer, was 1-of-7, finishing with two points. Drew Burleson, the team's third-leading scorer, was 1-of-6. Wood, 4-of-6 the first half, was 1-of-4 the second. As a team, the Raiders shot 35 percent, their second-worst shooting night of the season.
"Wood is the engine that runs the team," Detroit coach Perry Watson said. "In the first half, he was breaking us down. I thought we did a much better job on him in the second half."
By winning, Detroit earned a semifinal berth vs. Wisconsin-Green Bay tonight. In the other game, Milwaukee hosts the winner of Friday's second game between Illinois-Chicago and Loyola.
www.daytondailynews.com/sports/content/sports/wsu/daily/0305wsubb.html