Grant Basile had 23 points, 14 rebounds and four assists to lead four double-figure scorers as Wright State led for most of the game in its 84-70 upset of North Carolina State in a nonconference game Tuesday night in Raleigh, N.C.
Trey Calvin added 19 points, Tanner Holden had 17 and AJ Braun scored 13 for the Raiders (4-7), who lost at No. 3 Purdue 96-52 on Nov. 16. The Wolfpack (7-5), losers of three straight, squandered a 13-point lead in an 82-72 overtime loss to those same Boilermakers on a neutral court on Dec. 12.
But Wright State was clearly the better team on this night. The Raiders shot 52.5 percent from the field and limited the Wolfpack to 38.2 percent shooting.
Freshman Terquavion Smith had a season-high 27 points for NC State. Jericole Hellems added 14 and Dereon Seabron had 10.
NC State cut its deficit to 66-59 on a three-pointer by Smith with 8:38 left, but Wright State responded with a 9-2 run capped by Basile’s basket with 4:50 left for a 75-61 lead. The Wolfpack didn’t get closer than 10 after that.
NC State was playing its first game after getting some good news Monday. Although it was placed on a one-year probation for recruiting violations that occurred during the tenure of former coach Mark Gottfried, it avoided a postseason ban.
The good feelings didn’t last long.
Wright State led for much of the first half, and Basile’s basket with 8:53 left in the first half gave the Raiders their biggest lead before halftime at 23-14. But the Wolfpack then began chipping away at that advantage and finally went ahead, 36-35 on Hellems’ three-pointer with 1:09 left in the half.
Two free throws by Casey Morsell with 47 seconds left extended the lead to 38-35, and Calvin’s basket for Wright State with 35 seconds left closed the scoring for the half and left the Raiders trailing 38-37 at halftime.
Wright State opened the second half with a 14-4 run to regain the lead. Braun had six points in the spurt, including two foul shots to give the Raiders a 51-42 lead with 15:33 left in the game.
–Field Level Media