He didn’t dwell on it, though. He purged the game from his memory as soon as it was over.
»RELATED: Wright State wins fourth straight game
“One of my favorite players, J.J. Redick — I listen to his podcast often — he’s got a routine. And no matter what happens, he sticks to the same routine. That’s what I did,” said Wampler, who spends his free time on game days in the gym, not leaving until he’s made 400 jumpers.
“My teammates trust me to make shots, and I work to do that.”
The junior wing poured in 21 points on 9-of-13 shooting in an 87-75 win over visiting Green Bay on Saturday as a season-high 6,112 fans turned out on Military Appreciation Night.
That’s exactly how he responded after going 3 of 16 against UIC earlier this season. Two days later, he went 7 of 14 against IUPUI.
“You can’t let what happens affect the next play,” Wampler said. “Even that last game on Thursday, I didn’t let it affect me. I was still making plays defensively. I got on the floor for loose balls. I was doing anything I could to help the team out.”
Wampler, who also had four assists, made a 3-pointer with just over 16 minutes left to give the Raiders a 52-39 lead as they opened the second half with a 10-2 run.
“I think guys who are scorers have some toughness to them,” coach Scott Nagy said. “They let that stuff go and move on and think the next shot is going in. Bill is that kind of guy.”
Here are five takeaways from the game:
Stars galore: Loudon Love had 18 points and eight rebounds after getting 21 and 12 against Milwaukee.
Cole Gentry had 16 points and Skyelar Potter 14 points and six rebounds for the Raiders, who are 12-10 overall and tied for second in the Horizon League at 6-3.
Complete game: The Raiders excelled on both ends of the floor. They shot 54.5 percent — their best outing since hitting 55.2 in the season-opener against Western Carolina — and held Sandy Cohen III, a preseason first-team all-league pick, to four points, nearly 14 below his average.
The Phoenix (10-12, 4-5) may be one of the league’s most athletic teams, but Wright State had just nine turnovers (one off its season low).
Miscellaneous: Gentry was 4 for 4 on free throws and extended his streak to 39 in a row, eight short of the school record. He's shooting 95.5 percent (63 of 66) and is on pace to set the single-season program record. … Both coaches were vexed by the officiating. Nagy appeared close to getting his first technical in at least five years, and Green Bay's Linc Darner was finally T'd up with 8:49 to go. … … The previous largest home crowd this season was 4,095 against Miami.
Change applauded: Nagy was glad to hear the conference tournament will be held at the 6,800-seat Indiana Farmers Coliseum in Indianapolis for three years starting in 2020.
“Indy is a great town. It’s really centrally located. It’s better for our fans, for sure. In terms of helping Wright State, it’s a good move,” he said.
The men’s and women’s tourney semis and finals will be held again this year at Detroit’s Little Caesars Arena on March 11-12.
Coming up: The Raiders will play two straight on the road, at UIC on Friday and IUPUI on Sunday, Feb. 3.
FRIDAY’S GAME
Wright State at UIC, 9 p.m., ESPU, 106.5-FM
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