Youngstown State went against its defensive DNA and tried a 2-3 zone Thursday night. When that didn’t work, instead of going back to their standard man-to-man, the Penguins called for a 1-3-1.
Wright State coach Scott Nagy is past being surprised at what opponents throw at them.
“We’ve seen teams like Fort Wayne, which doesn’t play any zone — they’re ALL man-to-man — play us zone here,” he said. “Everybody sees, against a man-to-man, we’re hard to guard. And zone slows you down a little bit.”
The Raiders didn’t seem fazed, though, by anything the Penguins tried.
Shooting 54% from the field and putting together a solid floor game with 20 assists and just nine turnovers, they led by as many as 18 on their way to an 84-71 victory before 3,059 fans at the Nutter Center.
Grant Basile had 29 points on 12-of-16 shooting, and Tanner Holden chalked up 27 points and 10 rebounds. The duo did much of their damage against the 1-3-1.
“We know what to do against that,” Nagy said. “Our kids did a good job. They called a timeout and went back to the 2-3. And then we got them out of that because we were scoring against it, too.”
The Raiders were humming so well on offense that a poor night from 3 (4 of 18) and on foul shots (12 of 19) were hardly noticed.
“If we shoot the ball from 3 better and make our free throws, we probably score 100 points,” Nagy said.
The Penguins tallied a season-high 90 in a three-point home win over the Raiders on Jan. 15, their most against a Division-I foe this season.
But the Raiders held them to 37.9% shooting while building a comfortable first-half lead and forced 15 turnovers overall.
YSU ended up hitting 43.9% from the field, but Nagy still gave the defense a passing grade.
“They just have so many good one-on-one players. They get you spread out and shoot the ball,” he said.
“They’re just very difficult for us to guard. We’re not a super-athletic team, and they are.”
The top four teams in the standings didn’t change: Cleveland State (15-5), Fort Wayne (14-6), Northern Kentucky (13-6) and Wright State (14-7).
The Raiders, who are 17-13 overall, can claim a top-four seed and first-round bye in the league tourney by beating Robert Morris in the regular-season finale Saturday. But they could slip to fifth with a loss if Detroit Mercy (10-6) beats visiting Purdue Fort Wayne.
Cohill back in town: Former Dayton guard Dwayne Cohill had a rough first half against the Raiders, scoring three points and going 0 of 5 from the field. But he finished with 12 points in 31 minutes.
“It didn’t go how we wanted it. We didn’t come out with the win. But I’m happy,” he said.
“I was glad to see a lot of people come out, both former (UD) fans and a lot of Youngstown State fans were here, too.”
Cohill said UD coach Anthony Grant and an assistant came to the Nutter Center to watch.
“I’m thankful for my three years at Dayton,” said Cohill, who played two seasons and missed the last one with a torn ACL. “Whatever my role was there, I did it.
“I still stay in touch over there. That’s family forever.”
SATURDAY’S GAME
Robert Morris at Wright State, 7 p.m., ESPN+, 980
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