When Trey Calvin brought the ball across halfcourt, he was supposed to come off a pick from Brandon Noel. But Toledo threw an extra defender or two at him, and the Horizon League preaseason player of the year could only get off a contested 18-footer that didn’t come close.
Wright State dropped its second straight game to start the season, falling, 78-77, to the three-time defending MAC champions Tuesday at the Nutter Center.
Calvin had a game-high 22 points, and coach Scott Nagy wasn’t unhappy with the 6-foot guard’s attempt at a game-winner.
“Almost every ‘look’ for Trey is a good look. He makes so many off-balance (shots). He’s such an efficient player,” Nagy said.
“I would’ve liked to have seen him get to the hole and draw a foul, but it’s hard to get those in that situation.
“We’ll live and die with Trey for sure.”
That’s how his teammates felt.
“I’m sure they knew where the ball was going at the end,” said center A.J. Braun, who had 16 points on 8-of-10 shooting and seven rebounds. “They were trying everything they could to get the ball out of his hands. They defended it pretty well. It was a tough shot for him.”
Dante Maddox Jr., a preseason first-team All-MAC pick, had 20 points, and Ra’Heim Moss, a Springfield product, had 16 for Toledo (3-0).
The Rockets had a 75-71 lead with five minutes to go, but both teams then went cold.
Moss made one of two foul shots with 1:35 to go for a three-point lead.
Calvin then hit a floater at 1:24.
The Rockets essentially had two straight possessions after that. They missed but were awarded a dead-ball rebound after a review.
Noel then blocked a shot, giving the Raiders (0-2) a chance to win at the end.
“Our kids did a great job. We got stops when we needed to. Brandon made a great play,” Nagy said.
After giving up 105 points in a season-opening loss at Colorado State, the Raiders felt much better about themselves.
The Rockets averaged 85.4 points last season and 90.5 in two games this year.
“We can at least hang our hat on that effort, versus what we did the first game,” Nagy said. “I thought where we really grew was we were better defensively in the second half, which has been a problem for us.”
In their first three halves this season, they gave up 45, 60 and 41 points.
They trailed by one at halftime against Toledo despite shooting 62.1%.
“We clearly laid an egg last Saturday night, and that’s something we had to make an effort not to do,” said Noel, who had 10 points and eight rebounds.
Toledo managed just 37 second-half points.
But the Raiders had 15 turnovers for the second-straight game, and they were converted into 25 points.
“It’s a big point of emphasis. We had seven of what we call pick-sixes (against Colorado State). We turn it over, and they go down and shoot a layup. We did that a lot again tonight — and we should have a team that’s great with the basketball.
“We were better, but we still have to be tougher with the ball.”
THURSDAY’S GAME
Wright State at Indiana, 7 p.m., BTN, 101.5, 1410
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