TV/Radio: ESPNU/980-AM
Series: Wright State leads 42-37
Coaches: Scott Nagy is 128-62 in his sixth year at Wright State and 538-302 in his 27th year overall. Dennis Gates, a former Florida State assistant, is 50-38 in three seasons with Cleveland State.
Probable Wright State starters
Name Ht. Class Pos. Avg.
A.J. Braun 6-9 Fr. 5.9
Grant Basile 6-9 Jr. F 18.3
Tanner Holden 6-6 Jr. G 20.1
Tim Finke 6-6 Jr. G 8.6
Trey Calvin 6-0 Jr. G 14.0
Probable Cleveland State starters
Deante Johnson 6-9 Sr. F 7.5
Torrey Patton 6-5 Sr. F 14.0
D’Moi Hodge 6-4 Sr. G 15.4
Deshan Parker 6-4 Sr. G 4.3
Tre Gomillion 6-4 Sr. G 10.5
About Wright State: The Raiders, who have a three-game winning streak, captured their first HL tourney win in three years by beating Oakland in the quarterfinals. … Among the league’s 12 coaches, Nagy has the second-most NCAA trips in his career with four. Detroit Mercy’s Mike Davis has nine: four at Indiana, one at UAB and four at Texas Southern. … Look for Andrew Welage to get major minutes. He had 11 points off the bench against Oakland, and Nagy even drew up a play for him at the end of the first half. The 6-6 soph came off a screen and hit a 3 from the wing. He’s reached double figures four times this season, and two have been in the last five games. … Holden leads the country in free throws made (186) and attempted (240). He’s already broken Mark Alstork’s program record of 176 free throws in one season in 2016-17 and Vernard Hollins’ mark of 228 attempts in 2003-04. Holden’s 17 attempts against Oakland are the most in the league this season. He’s hitting 77.5%. But if the Raiders have a technical to shoot, Nagy likely will pick Calvin, who’s making 84.7%. The Raiders are at 76.2% this season, just below the 2016-17 program record of 76.4.
About Cleveland State: The Vikings advanced to the semifinals with an 83-67 win over Robert Morris. Patton had 25 points and Hodge 16. … Hodge was named HL defensive player of the year and all-league first team this season. Patton was a first-team all-league pick last season and a second-team selection this year, while Gomillion made the third team. CSU claimed three of the five spots on the all-defensive team: Hodge, Gomillion and Johnson. … Patton (Trotwood-Madison grad) leads the team in assists at 3.5 per game, and Parker (Wayne) is second at 3.0. … The Vikings won the league tourney last season, but they barely survived a quarterfinal home game, beating Purdue Fort Wayne, 108-104, in triple overtime. They slipped past Milwaukee (which knocked out Wright State) in the semis, 71-65, and then beat Oakland, 80-69, in the finals. They faced Houston in the NCAA first round and fell, 87-56. … After a rough first season, Gates has led the Vikings to a 39-17 record and back-to-back regular-season co-championships. The school gave him a new contract last year with a $500,000 base salary, roughly what Nagy makes annually.
No. 2 PFW (21-10) vs. No. 3 NKU (19-11): Fort Wayne has been the surprise of the league this season, going from 8-15 overall and 10th in the league in 2020-21 to a co-championship this year. HL coach of the year Jon Coffman has led the Mastodons to 11 straight wins. Jarred Godfrey, averaging a team-high 15.4 points, was named first-team all-league. … Northern Kentucky has been almost as hot, winning four straight and 13 of its last 15 games. Guard Marques Warrick, a second-team all-league pick, is sixth in the HL in scoring with a 16.3 average and second in 3′s per game at 2.4. Sam Vincent, averaging 11.7 points, was named league freshman of the year.
Next game: The tourney finals are at 7 p.m. Tuesday on ESPN.
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