After jumping out to a 15-4 lead, the Raiders’ offense dried up for most of the rest of the day, and their defense was carved up in a shocking 79-68 road defeat.
They fell to 13-15 overall and 7-10 in the league after getting swept on their Wisconsin swing.
The Phoenix, ranked 346th out of 364 teams in the NET, improved to 3-24 overall and 1-15 in the confernce.
“I know I have a bunch of great kids in that locker room with great families that clearly don’t want this for themselves or their path, but now we have to respond,” coach Clint Sargent said on his post-game radio show.
“There’s still a lot left in their stories to write. That’ll be myself and my staff’s job to serve their minds and hearts and help them create as much belief as you can — until you get into a game, and then you have to make in-game decisions to create that belief.”
One game after hitting his career high with 16 points against Milwaukee, Solomon Callaghan had 21 points, going 7 of 12 from the field, 3 of 7 on 3′s and 4 of 4 on foul shots.
Brandon Noel had 14 points on 4-of-11 shooting with six rebounds, and Jack Doumbia had 11 points and nine rebounds.
After taking a 37-31 halftime lead, the Phoenix scored the first six points of the second half for a 43-31 lead.
They still led 46-34 with 14 minutes left.
But the Raiders went on a 16-6 run — 11 points coming from Callaghan on two 3′s, a three-point play and another bucket — to make it 52-50 with 9:15 to go.
Green Bay, though, hit back-to-back 3′s and rebuilt their lead to 67-56 and coasted from there.
“They did great of continuing to respond,” Sargent said of Green Bay. “As hard a year as they’ve had and all the despair — all the heartache we’ve had, they’ve had it as well — and coach (Doug) Gottlieb got his kids to fight through it. His guys found a way in-game to create that belief, and they ran with it.”
The Raiders went 22 of 56 from the field (39.3%), 5 of 19 on 3′s and 19 of 24 on free throws.
The Phoenix went 23 of 52 (44.2%), 7 of 16 on 3′s and 26 of 34 on foul shots.
FRIDAY’S GAME
Northern Kentucky at Wright State, 7 p.m., ESPN+, 101.5, 1410
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