“We’re not good enough defensively. We just aren’t,” Nagy said.
“They just physically whipped us in a second half. At some point, I have to be able to communicate and get the point across better about our defense. You can’t continue to score 84 points and lose basketball games.”
The problem certainly wasn’t offense for the Raiders, who fell to 4-6. Trey Calvin tallied a season-high 34 points on 14-of-25 shooting, and he had ample help on that end with Tanner Holden scoring 18 and Alex Huibregtse 12.
But the 42-36 board disparity was glaring — and so were the many uncontested drives to the basket when it mattered most.
“You look in the last two minutes at the number of layups we gave up, and it was incredible,” Nagy said.
“It’s my fault. I’ve not done a good enough job convincing these guys how important defense is.”
The Raiders entered the night 333rd out of 362 teams in defensive efficiency, giving up 1.119 points per possession.
They were 330th in field-goal percentage defense at 47.9%. WKU (8-3) shot 52.2%.
“We didn’t come out ready to go in the second half. I thought we were in a good spot. But the wheels started to come off a little bit,” Holden said.
The Hilltoppers took an 83-74 lead with 3:18 left on a three-point play by Babacar Faye.
But rather than nurse the lead to the finish, they helped the Raiders by firing quick shots.
Huibregtse had a three-point play at 2:19 to make it 83-79, and teammate Brandon Noel made a steal on the next possession.
But Calvin misfired on a drive.
After Don McHenry (30 points) scored at the rim with 53 seconds left to make it 87-81, the Raiders had one last surge with Calvin hitting a 3.
But WKU, picked third in Conference USA preseason poll, ended the drama with another drive for two.
The Hilltoppers have a new coach in Steve Lutz, and they’ve fared well despite star guard Dayvion McKnight transferring to Xavier and 7-5 center Jamarion Sharp, the nation’s leading shot-blocker the last two seasons, transferring to Ole Miss.
“Steve’s done a good job, and they’re very athletic. They’re very physical,” Nagy said.
“They just played harder than we did, and that’s hard for everybody to watch.”
TUESDAY’S GAME
Miami at Wright State, 7 p.m., ESPN+, 101.5, 1410
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