TV/Radio: ESPNU/106.5
Series: Wright State leads 41-34.
Coaches: Scott Nagy is 99-46 in his fifth year at Wright State and 509-286 in his 26th year overall. The 40-year-old Dennis Gates is 19-24 in his second season at Cleveland State.
Probable Wright State starters
Name Ht. Class Pos. Avg.
Loudon Love 6-8 Sr. C 15.1
Tanner Holden 6-6 So. G 17.1
Jaylon Hall 6-5 Jr. G 10.0
Tim Finke 6-6 So G 9.7
Trey Calvin 6-0 So. G 10.5
Probable Cleveland State starters
Deante Johnson 6-9 Jr. F 6.1
Torrey Patton 6-5 Sr. F 12.3
Craig Beaudion 6-3 Sr. G 7.6
Tre Gomillion 6-4 Jr. G 9.5
D’Moi Hodge 6-4 Jr. G 12.7
About Wright State: Nagy needs one win to reach 100 at Wright State. Women’s coach Katrina Merriweather, who also is in her fifth year, notched her 100th last weekend at Cleveland State. She has a 101-42 career record. … Love is tied with Mark Vest for eighth on the all-time scoring list with 1,559 points. Next up is Sean Hammonds with 1,573. Love became the first men’s player to reach 1,000 career rebounds last weekend. Former women’s star Symone Simmons was the first at the school to do it with 1,050 from 2015-19. … The Raiders dropped one spot to 17th this week in the CollegeInsider.com mid-major Top 25. … They have the best NET ranking in the league at No. 84 going into Thursday’s games, followed by Cleveland State (138), Milwaukee (143) and Robert Morris at (193). The other eight teams are in the 200s except Detroit Mercy at 301. … Sophomore forward Grant Basile is averaging 12.1 points and 6.7 rebounds. He’s a solid 8 of 16 on 3-pointers after going 3 of 21 as a freshman.
About Cleveland State: The Vikings went 11-21 and finished seventh in the league last season. Picked to finish seventh this year, they started with three non-conference road losses, but they gave Ohio State a test before falling, 67-61. … They’re off to their best HL start since becoming a member in 1994-95 and their best league start overall since going 14-0 in the Mid-Continent Conference in 1992-93. Their eight-game winning streak is their longest since winning 12 straight in 2010-11. … Algevon Eichelberger, a 6-8, 250-pound senior, has missed time with a foot injury but has played in the last five games. He was a preseason second-team all-league pick after averaging 14.5 points last year. … Patton, a Trotwood-Madison grad, notched his first double-double of the season and fourth of his career in Saturday’s 74-71 win over Northern Kentucky with 18 points and 12 rebounds. He’s scored in double figures in all eight games of the winning streak and is averaging a team-high 7.4 rebounds.
Breakout performance: Hodge created a sensation in the league by scoring 46 points at Purdue Fort Wayne on Dec. 20, three short of the school record set by Franklin Edwards in 1981. After scoring just five points in the game before that, the JC transfer from Florida Manatee-Sarasota went 15 of 23 from the field and 10 of 15 on 3′s.
Next game: After hosting Cleveland State at 7 p.m. Saturday, the Raiders play two games with noon starts at IUPUI on Jan. 22-23.
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