The 6-foot-6 fifth-year wing, though, had hit a rough patch before playing Northern Kentucky on Sunday — prompting coach Scott Nagy to revamp his starting lineup.
Holden had a back-up role for the first time since the first game of his freshman year in 2019-20, having made 114 straight starts.
“My fear in that always is people going, ‘Oh, they’re blaming Tanner because they didn’t play well.’ That’s just not the case,” Nagy said.
“We’re trying to shake it up to help people play better and respond to us. He came off the bench, and I think it maybe helped him relax.”
Holden had been averaging 17.1 points, but he’d scored just 12, 12 and 13 in the three games before facing NKU, going 10 of 23 from the field.
He also had five turnovers and fouled out in a home loss to Youngstown State on Thursday.
But he tallied 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting and picked up eight rebounds and four assists in 32 minutes in the 85-78 win before a hostile crowd of 4,760.
“He played great,” Nagy said. “Just like anybody with (preseason) expectations, I think Tanner was — just like I would be — feeling the pressure of that. And you start to press.
“Almost always, when you feel pressure, you press offensively, and it affects everything else. We were just trying to give them a different look and let him relax a second.”
Calvin was the star, scoring 21 points — leaving him six short of joining Bill Edwards in the Raiders’ 2,000-point club — but Holden’s contributions were crucial in a much-needed Horizon League victory.
Redshirt freshman Drey Carter made his first start and had six points in 22 minutes. Asked if he’ll stick with that lineup against Detroit Mercy on Thursday, Nagy said: “I haven’t even thought that through at this point. We just felt it was the right move at the right time.
“But there’s no one pointing fingers and saying you’re the problem. We’re just trying to help people play better.”
The Raiders hiked their overall record to 13-11 and kept their grip on fourth place in the league at 8-5.
They’re an impressive 5-3 on the road. They have seven games left with five at the Nutter Center.
Green Bay and Oakland are tied for first at 10-3, while Youngstown State is 9-4.
Nagy said of the road record: “It’s what’s kept us in (the race) because we haven’t been phenomenal at home. If we’d just taken care of home, we’d be in a crazy spot.
“We’ve played pretty good on the road. And the thing is, we SHOULD. We’re a highly, highly experienced team. We should play maturely and handle all the stuff that comes with playing on the road.”
THURSDAY’S GAME
Detroit Mercy at Wright State, 7 p.m., ESPN+, 101.5, 1410
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