WSU remains top of the Horizon League with 95-63 win over NKU

Friday night’s rivalry matchup at the Nutter Center ended in the Wright State Raiders’ favor with a whopping 32-point win. NKU now falls to 14-7 on the season and 6-3 in the conference. Wright State advances to 18-4 overall and 8-1 in the Horizon League; their only loss in the conference was to UIC 76-72.

Senior guard Tyler Sharpe led the night with 18 points, shooting 1-of-5 from the 3-point line. Sophomore guard Bryson Langdon finished with 16 points and led the team in assists with three. Redshirt junior guard Jalen Tate also added 16 points and sophomore forward Adrian Nelson contributed eight boards and three points.

Wright State came out of the gate on a 10-2 run with Tate being the only one to score for the first two minutes. Sharpe and Faulkner eventually put points on the board, cutting the score down to 12-7. The Raiders jumped ahead to a 17 point lead, and the Norse went into halftime trailing 48-28. 

At halftime, the Norse shot for 31.34 percent from the field and only made 2-of-16 from the 3-point line—one each from Sharpe and Faulkner. Wright State shot 60 percent from the field and 6-of-12 from three.

The Raiders started the second half with a 13-4 run and the Norse answered back with 12-4 run starting at the 15:57 minute mark. The Norse weren’t able to make another run, and Wright State’s lead never dipped below 20 points. The game ended with a blowout victory for Wright State, 95-63.

NKU scored 30 of their 62 points in the paint and grabbed 28 boards. Wright State scored 40 points in the paint and collected 43 rebounds. The Raiders dominated the offense, shooting 61 percent overall and 54.5 percent from the 3-point line. NKU’s shooting didn’t improve much from the first half; they shot 39.4 percent from the field and only made 4-of-22 from the 3-point line.

Tate’s 16 points was a new season high, and Sharpe now has 11 games where he has 18+ points. The rivalry of the D-I era now sits in WSU’s favor at 6-5.

Next, the Norse head to Green Bay, Wisconsin to take on the Green Bay Phoenix. The game is set for 9 p.m. ET/ 8 p.m. CT on Friday, Jan. 31. The game will be broadcast on ESPN U.