Gulf Coast Showcase: Wright State shuts down Illinois State to take third place

Wright State's Trey Calvin scored 26 points Wednesday in the Raiders' win over Illinois State. FILE PHOTO

Wright State's Trey Calvin scored 26 points Wednesday in the Raiders' win over Illinois State. FILE PHOTO

Wright State took a 39-21 halftime lead against Illinois State at the Gulf Coast Showcase, but putting two good halves together has been a problem, which meant the game was far from over.

The Raiders were outscored in the second half by Hofstra, 47-28; by Louisiana, 51-46; and by Colorado State, 60-35.

But they showed some resolve in the third-place game Wednesday, quickly pushing the lead to 23 and rolling to a 74-49 victory in Estero, Fla.

They held the Redbirds to 8-of-30 shooting in the first half and 15 of 54 for the game.

The 27.8% field-goal clip is the lowest for a Raider foe since the Miami RedHawks hit 27.3% on Dec. 5, 2020.

The Raiders (2-4) went 2-1 at the tourney, bouncing back from a loss to Hofstra on Tuesday.

“Playing three days in a row isn’t easy. It was a challenge for both of us. I told the guys, ‘The team that can get over yesterday (will win) — because they’re tired and we’re tired. Emotionally, it’s not easy.’ But our guys were level-headed and rock solid,” WSU coach Scott Nagy said on his post-game radio show.

Trey Calvin racked up 20 first-half points and finished with 26 after scoring just 11 a day earlier. He was 8 of 10 from the field in the opening half and 10 of 16 for the game, going 3 of 4 on 3′s.

Brandon Noel provided the inside punch with 19 points and six rebounds.

And Alex Huibregtse, a 6-3 guard, pulled down a game-high eight rebounds to go with seven points.

The Redbirds (3-3), who are coming off four straight losing seasons, went 2 of 22 on 3′s.

They were shooting only 40.8% this season and 32% on 3′s.

The Raiders shot 45.6% from the field went 7 of 22 on 3′s.

“They didn’t have a great day — that was part of it. And Trey was really good in the first half, which took the air out of them,” Nagy said.

“But defensively, for almost the entire game, we were locked in. There was a focus to put an entire game together — because we just haven’t done that. And we did.”

WEDNESDAY’S GAME

IUPUI at Wright State, 7 p.m., ESPN+, 101.5, 1410

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