Down 70-68, Marcus Hall scored inside to cap the flurry and make it 82-70 with 2:37 to go. The Phoenix shot 68% in the second half and 58% for the game.
After Brandon Noel’s layup with 7:30 to go, the Raiders didn’t score again until Tanner Holden’s basket with 2:08 left.
They had seven misses, two turnovers and two missed free throws in that span.
“Like I told the guys after the game, for seven years, for the most part, we’ve been whipping people. We’ve had the upper hand with Green Bay, and they were just tired of it, and they did something about it,” coach Scott Nagy said on his postgame radio show.
Green Bay junior guard Noah Reynolds, a transfer from Wyoming who was averaging 17.3 points, scored 39, going 14 of 19 from the field, 5 of 6 on 3′s and 6 of 8 on free throws.
That’s the most points by a Horizon League player this season, five more than the next-highest total.
The Phoenix (7-7, 2-1), which went 3-29 and 5-25 the last two years, are playing under new coach Sundance “Sunny” Wicks. They made 32 of 55 shots while ending a six-game losing streak in the series.
Trey Calvin and Holden had 23 points apiece for the Raiders (6-7, 1-1), and Noel had 10 points and nine rebounds.
Holden chipped in nine rebounds and six assists.
“We’re on a path to have two all-conference players and finish seventh or eighth, the way we’re playing,” Nagy said.
The Raiders led, 59-49, with 14:41 to go, but the Phoenix tied it at 60-all on a three-point play by Reynolds with 11:40 left.
“I’m frustrated with it, and I know the players are, too,” Nagy said. “We’re just in a spot our kids aren’t used to. It’s their team, it’s not my team. For the most part, they’re the ones that have to get it done.
“In the second half on loose balls, (Green Bay) got all of them. And they were more physical — all the things it takes to win a basketball game.”
NATIONAL TV: The Raiders’ game at Youngstown State on Friday, Jan. 12, will be broadcast on ESPN2. The tipoff has shifted to 9 p.m.
SUNDAY’S GAME
Wright State at Milwaukee, 3 p.m., ESPN+, 101.5, 1410
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