Wright State actually had many factors in its favor in turning in its most complete showing of the year, knocking off Radford, 92-59, at the Greenbrier Tip-off in White Sulpher Springs, W.Va., on Saturday.
The Raiders (2-2) shot 50.8% overall and went 13 of 20 on 3’s while notching their first win over a Division-I foe this season.
They’ll wrap up play in the event with a noon matchup against Kent State, which outlasted Cleveland State, 102-95, in the first game.
“With our Cal performance, I felt it wasn’t quite us. And Toledo, obviously, that second half was not us. It was good to have a performance where our guys can really, really understand the confidence you can take from getting stops and claiming possessions at the glass,” coach Clint Sargent said on his post-game radio show.
“What that does is free you up offensively — versus trying to lead it the other way.”
Callaghan had 20 points, one off his career high, while going 5 of 7 on 3’s.
Michael Cooper had 17 points. Pangonis, who replaced Logan Woods in the lineup, chipped in 11 points while going 3 of 3 on 3’s.
TJ Burch had 12 points and Woods 11 off the bench. Both had four assists.
Michael Imariagbe had 10 rebounds and Andrea Holden nine in 12 minutes, helping the Raiders to a 42-31 edge on the glass.
“We’ve been saying it: We do have a deep team. And tonight, our minds were right. I saw a number of guys step into their moments with great unselfishness,” Sargent said.
Trailing 35-27 at halftime, Radford (2-2) scored the first bucket of the second half. But the Raiders scored the next seven on a Holden tip-in, a Cooper jumper and a Callaghan 3.
Kellen Pickett’s 3 made it 52-34 with 13:52 to go.
The Highlanders — who went 20-13 last season and were picked fourth in the Big South preseason poll — made only 9 of 28 shots in the first half and 20 of 56 (35.7%) for the game.
“Radford has a very talented roster. To hold them to 35% is tremendous. It’s one of the better defensive efforts I’ve been a part of for sure. And my prayer and hope is that it can mold our confidence,” Sargent said.
DEATH IN THE FAMILY: Matthew Brown, the son of former Wright State coach and current radio analyst Jim Brown, passed away, according to the program’s X account.
The former team manager is survived by his wife Ellen (Musk) Brown and their two sons, Logan and Alex, and their grandson Wyatt.
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