And while it didn’t have the electric atmosphere of a Northern Kentucky game when both teams are at their peaks, the Raiders weren’t going to let such a huge turnout leave without being thoroughly entertained.
Alex Huibregtse tied his career high for 3′s when he made his first six attempts in the 70-57 victory. He finished with 20 points, going 6 of 7 on 3′s, while Brandon Noel had 23 points on 10-of-15 shooting.
The school record for 3′s is nine by Marcus Mumphrey, who did it three times from 1988-91.
The Raiders (5-4) built a 16-point first-half lead and never were threatened, stretching it to 21 in the second half.
The performance was certainly acceptable, but main topic afterward was the crowd.
“Man, it was awesome,” Noel said. “It means something to the area with Air Force involved. That was a great crowd to have. I really appreciated that.”
“It’s great to get community support,” Huibregtse said. “To have an event like this with the Air Force and Wright-Patt, I think it was really special. It was definitely fun to play with a bunch of fans in the arena. I hope they come back.”
The Raiders drew 2,990 and 3,734 for their other two home games this year against non-Division-I teams.
Coach Clint Sargent was appreciative of the administration for the legwork required to pull it off.
“I wanted it to go well for them because I know there’s an investment and a buy-in — that they want what’s best for our team and our community. I thought they did a great job making this thing happen,” he said.
“I also wanted this to show well for the day-to-day Wright State fan, who’s here when we play a non-D-I. They’re passionate about the brand, and so am I. I’ve been very open that I want bigger, better, brighter things for the program in all ways.”
The Raiders (5-4) made 27 of 52 shots for 51.9% — topping 50% for the sixth time in the last eight games.
They built a 55-34 lead with 9:06 to go. When Air Force (2-6) closed to 58-45, Soloman Callaghan ripped a 3 with 5:15 left.
It was the fewest points Wright State has allowed since giving up 54 to Muskingum on Dec. 22, 2023.
The Raiders have drawn five crowds of 10,000-plus in the Nutter Center’s 35-year history with an all-time high of 10,827 for their 77-65 win over Butler on Feb. 10, 2007.
They also drew 10,686 for their 60-55 win over Butler in the Horizon League finals on March 6, 2007.
The other five-digit crowds came in the early 1990s against Dayton, Xavier and Tennessee State (on the Nutter Center’s opening night).
Asked how they hit the 10,000-tickets-sold threshold, athletic director Joylynn Brown said: “We worked really, really hard. We had the help of Big Hoopla because this is officially a Big Hoopla event. ... Part of their goal is to get more and more tickets (distributed). The First Four is always sold out. We followed that model.
“We reached out to people that don’t normally come to games. We offered discount codes to different groups of people. Big Hoopla purchased tickets that they donated to military members, which is great for a game like this. Tickets went really quickly.
“We have such a great fan base already. Season-ticket holders are so loyal to us. And it’s exciting to have people here who have not seen Wright State basketball before. We’re hoping they’ll come back.”
THURSDAY’S GAME
Wright State at Oakland, 7 p.m., ESPN+, 101.5, 1410
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