But the Falcons started to guard Huibregtse close enough to make him feel claustrophobic, and he could only uncork one more attempt, missing from the wing.
While he knew he’d tied his career high for 3′s as a Raider — and maybe even his lifetime high since he couldn’t remember a more prolific game while playing for Grafton High School in Wisconsin — he had no idea he was flirting with a record.
“Next time I hit five in a row or six in a row, I’m going shoot for 10,” he joked. “I going to tell the team, ‘Get out of my way, guys, I’m going for 10.’”
He’s far too unselfish for that, of course. And besides, he’ll struggle this year to even reach 10 ATTEMPTS in a game.
He’s become a defensive priority since he’s no longer surrounded by a pair of 2,000-point scorers in Trey Calvin and Tanner Holden.
“I definitely felt it in Myrtle Beach,” he said of the three-game tourney Nov. 21-24. “I thought I didn’t do a great job adjusting to it. They’re (helping out) very little in the gaps, and they’re closing out on me very heavily.
“I’m not getting a lot of open 3′s. When you have Trey and Tanner, it’s like, what do you do (as a defense)? I’m just standing there wide open. It’s been a little more difficult to get open shots for sure.”
The preseason second-team All-Horizon League pick is shooting 55.2% from the field (up from 52.5% last year), and, even with a 6-for-20 stretch at Myrtle Beach, he’s hitting 45.6% from 3 (a jump from 41.7 in 2023-24).
He’s also hiked his average from 12.3 points to 16.6.
“He’s got the ultimate green light. He’s earned it. I know it, and his teammates know it,” coach Clint Sargent said.
“We do try to speak to shot selection as a whole. We want inside-out 3′s (passing the ball into the post first). But Alex can take any 3 he wants.”
Though the Raiders were hitting just 29.4% from 3 going into the Myrtle Beach event, Sargent was adamant that his shooters would come around. And they did.
They were a combined 29 of 66 (44%) in the tourney and made 9 of 20 against Air Force.
Asked why he was so confident, Sargent said: “I get to watch them every day. Not everybody does.
“It was just a matter of in-game rhythm and confidence. I’m proud of the guys for just staying the course.”
The Raiders will take a 5-4 record into Horizon League games at Oakland on Thursday night and Detroit Mercy on Saturday afternoon.
They’ll end up playing just four of 11 non-league games at home. That’s a road-heavy start to the season, but Huibregtse said: “Coach Sargent has been saying, ‘If you win two on the road to start the league, it can be tough for other teams to catch up. We know these are two huge games.”
Though they finished just 1-2 at Myrtle Beach, the trip did wonders for their collective psyches.
They blew out Ivy League power Princeton and only lost by a combined four points to two other mid-major toughies in Bradley and South Florida.
“When you lose, it’s (easier) to learn from it. When you win, you don’t really always learn a ton. We got to learn a bunch about our team, and we know what to do moving forward,” Huibregtse said.
Asked to list some takeaways, he said: “We have a really deep team. And honestly, the main thing was we can compete with anybody. Even when our offense isn’t good, we have a great defensive team. And we rebounded pretty well down there. We know we’re a physical team.”
THURSDAY’S GAME
Wright State at Oakland, 7 p.m., ESPN+, 101.5, 1410
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