When: 7 p.m. Thursday
TV/Radio: ESPN+/980-AM
Series: Defiance leads, 1-0
Coaches: Scott Nagy is 133-64 in his seventh year at Wright State and 543-304 in his 28th year overall. Josh Gibson is 12-12 in his second year at Defiance and has a 116-145 record in nine years overall. He went 8-21 as coach at Urbana University in 2019-20, but the school closed in 2020.
Probable Wright State starters
Name Ht. Class Pos. Avg.
A.J. Braun 6-9 So. C 10.3
Amari Davis 6-2 Sr. G 14.3
Tim Finke 6-6 Sr. G 7.7
Trey Calvin 6-1 Sr. G 23.0
Keaton Norris 6-0 So. G 3.7
Probable Defiance starters
Evan Conrad 6-5 Fr. C 5.0
Dejsani Beamon 5-11 Sr. G 5.5
Marell Jordan 6-2 Sr. G 27.0
Kiewaun Graham 6-0 Sr. G 9.0
Landon Swanner 6-3 So. G 5.0
About Wright State: The Raiders’ only meeting with Defiance was a 105-93 loss in the program’s first season in 1970-71. … They’re averaging a Horizon League-leading 3,662 fans in two home games after drawing 3,310 per game last season. … The back-ups in the Bowling Green win — Brandon Noel, Andrew Welage, Alex Huibregtse and Blake Sisley — tallied 25 points and 15 rebounds. Those four have played in all three games. They combined for 14 points and seven rebounds against Davidson and 35 and 18 against Louisville. … Calvin, who earned the first HL player of the week award of the season, leads the league in scoring and is third in assists at 5.7 per game. Finke is tied for first in steals at 3.0. … Though it hasn’t really cost the Raiders yet, they’re struggling on 3′s. The went 6 of 13 in the first half against Davidson but went 2 of 17 the rest of the game. They’re 16 of 56 for 28.6%, which is ninth in the league.
About Defiance: The Division-III Yellow Jackets, who had a home game against Alma (Mich.) Wednesday night, were picked sixth in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference preseason poll. Hanover, Transylvania and Rose-Hulman were picked 1-2-3. … They lost an exhibition at Oakland 92-27. They’ve beaten Miami-Middletown, 88-79, and lost to Wilmington, 81-72. They fell to Youngstown State, 96-47, and Miami (Ohio), 96-57, while going 11-11 overall last season. … Jordan was named the HCAC player of the week after racking up 54 points, 10 rebounds and three steals in the team’s season-opening Purple and Gold tourney. He averaged 18.9 points last season, while Swanner made team-best 38 3′s.
Next game: The Raiders go to Las Vegas for three games Monday through Wednesday in the Vegas 4 tourney, facing Abilene Christian, UC Riverside and Weber State.
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