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DAYTON, Ohio -- Junior Cole Darling unloaded for a career-best 22 points in the first half alone en route to 29 for the game and the Wright State men’s basketball team recorded a 66-57 victory over Morehead State on Saturday afternoon at the Nutter Center.
The Horizon League Raiders improve to 5-2 on the campaign with the win in their only game of the week. The Ohio Valley Conference Eagles slip to 4-4 overall with a setback in their third tilt over the past six days. MSU still owns a 6-5 advantage in the all-time series.
“We need to continue to get better in all phases of the game,” Head Coach Sean Woods said. “We’re not where we want to be, and everyone in our locker room knows it.”
Darling, in his first game back from an injury, entered the day averaging 7.3 points on 38 percent field-goal shooting in just three contests. He knocked down 10-of-13 from the field, 3-of-3 from three-point range and 6-of-8 from the free-throw line.
Darling canned 8-of-9 before intermission. He also chipped in with a team-best three steals and three rebounds on the afternoon. Classmate Matt Vest, who tallied 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting, was Wright State’s only other double-figure scorer.
Junior Jarrett Stokes led Morehead State with 12 points, all in the first half, on 3-of-8 from the field and 4-of-5 from the charity stripe. Senior Devon Atkinson added 11 points on 5-of-8 from the floor and distributed a club-high four assists, while sophomore Angelo Warner tossed in 11 on 4-of-4 at the foul line.
The Eagles posted a 27-17 rebounding advantage, including 11-3 on the offensive end, but Morehead State committed a season-high 25 turnovers while forcing just 20. Senior Kahlil Owens collected a game-high seven boards for MSU.
“We knew we could outrebound Wright State, but we didn’t finish possessions on the defensive end and you can’t turn the ball over 25 times on the road,” Woods said.
Wright State knocked down 60 percent for the game, including 6-of-12 from long distance. Morehead State drilled 50 percent overall, including 5-of-13 from beyond the arc. The Eagles were whistled for 25 fouls, while the Raiders committed just 14 infractions.
Wright State used a 12-0 run early in the first half to snatch a 14-4 advantage with 14:27 before the break. The Raiders pushed out to a big lead of 14 points with 3:34 prior to intermission and owned a 37-27 upper hand when the teams headed to the locker room.
Wright State led by double figures for most of the second period. Morehead State trimmed the deficit to six points on a pair of free throws with 1:29 left, but the Raiders answered with five free tosses the rest of the way to earn their second home victory of the year.
“We had a few early-season wins and that may have led to a false sense of security for our guys,” Woods added. “The bottom line is we need to work harder and play better for us to be successful. We will worry about us before worrying about our next two opponents.”
Morehead State returns to Johnson Arena for a two-game homestand next week. The Eagles entertain North Dakota State on Wednesday at 7 p.m. ET and Indiana State on Saturday at 2 p.m.
Both games will be available on OVCDigitalNetwork.com and the Eagle Sports Network. Live audio and stats will be available on MSUEagles.com, with Twitter updates @MSUAthletics.
