Raiders Close Out Non-Conference
The Raiders came in to the final few weeks of non-conference games with four games to finish. They would have three straight home games followed by a road game to cap off the month. In those four games the Raiders would finish off 3-1 closing out non-conference play with a 6-5 record.
Game 1: The Raiders would host the #4 team in the country Gonzaga. What had felt like a lopsided game throughout had shown different on the scoreboard.
In the first half of the game it was Gonzaga big man Ed Waller who would pave the way. Ed Waller averages 26.6 PPG and 13.1 RPG. There is a reason this man is the frontrunner for National Player of The Year. Waller led the Bulldogs to an early 22-7 lead and it only felt as if it would grow. The Raiders pulled out of their press and played a half court 2-3 and started to bite back. Narrowing the gap to 12 at the half down 39-27.
Coming in to the second half the Raiders wanted to prove that they could score against a solid defense and they did just that. The Raiders put up 40 in the second half but would also give up 41 to their counterpart.
Gonzaga won the game 80-67 with C Ed Waller scoring 31 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. Derek Clinton for Wright State put up 20 points.
Game 2: The Raiders knew they had to come in to this game and get a win. The team with a record of 3-5 could not go into conference play with a record in such a bad spot. George Mason is one of the best scoring teams in the country and they pushed the Raiders to the brink.
Throughout the first half it did not matter if the Raiders wanted to press or not, George Mason was going to score. The first half had gone back and forth. After being up 6 with just under 3 minutes left, the Raiders turned the ball over on 6 of 7 possessions to close the half. They were down 47-43.
After having 13 points in the first half with only 1 rebound and 2 assists, it would be on Derek Clinton to step up for the Raiders. He did just that. George Mason had no answer for Clinton has he would go for 21 points in the second half, adding 4 rebounds and 3 more assists to his stat sheet. The freshman Howard Camp became an inside the paint success in the second half as well drawing the fouls and getting to the line. The Raiders would pull away late in their highest scoring game of the year.
Wright State: 92 George Mason: 87
Game 3: In the final game of the three game home stand, the Wright State Raiders would host Gardner-Webb and the Runnin' Bulldogs. It was a game where it felt like no matter what kind of press the Raiders showed, it was going to get beaten.
The first half was a let down for Wright State. The Raiders shot a poor 23% and also being out rebounded 19-6 in the first half. These numbers resulted in them being down 41-19.
After being torn apart by Coach Ashton in the locker room the Raiders came out a different team. They switched their defense up to a 3-2 Trap. The Raiders quickly opened up on a 10-0 run in the first 3 minutes to make it a 41-29 game. Coming out of a Bulldog timeout the Raiders would trade a few buckets before going on a 7-0 run. With just over 5 minutes left in the game the Raiders now found themselves down 4 (54-50).
A quiet Derek Clinton would erupt to score the Raiders next 8 points and with the clock running down the Runnin' Bulldogs who were had been held scoreless the last 5 minutes would have to tie it at the buzzer or go home knowing they blew the 22 point half time lead. Off a bad inbound pass it ended up in C Jeff Howard's hands and he bricked it off the backboard at the buzzer.
Wright State: 58 Gardner Webb: 50
Game 4: In the final game of Wright State's non-conference schedule they would be on the road to face off against a somewhat weak South Alabama team.
The first half was a slow start for the Raiders as they were held to just 26 points against a very weak defense. It had all started from their poor shooting and the fact they were allowing easy inside buckets to Bama. The Raiders were lucky to go into halftime with a 26-23 lead.
After struggling in the first half Wright State had came out a whole different team in the second. Derek Clinton would score 12 of his 16 points in the second half and senior captain Anthony Gordon would grab all 8 of his rebounds in the second half. South Alabama just had no answer for the Raiders.
Wright State: 72 South Alabama: 61
The Wright State Raiders closed out non-conference play with a record of 6-5. With good wins over George Mason, TCU and Loyola and then their questionable losses to Western Kentucky and Old Dominion both at home.
The Raiders this upcoming week open up conference play as the second place team right now with their first game at home against Cleveland St (5-6) then they will travel on the road to take on the first place team in the conference Youngstown St (8-3).
Wright State Recruitment
These past few weeks Wright State has been pushing for two recruits. One by the name of Michael Cotton [6'1 3* PG Pennsylvania] and Cono Ulrich [7'4 3* C Ohio].
It came out a few weeks ago that Wright State was at the point where they wanted to offer Michael Cotton one of the two scholarships they had to offer this year. After sitting down with him and his high school coach they did just that. Michael Cotton had one request, that being "Coach Ashton gets me minutes in every game." Coach Ashton agreed and before he knew it,
Michael Cotton was now a Raider.
Next on the list was Cono Ulrich. Cono is one of the more interesting in this past years recruiting scene. He once played against Coach Ashton back when Coach Ashton coached high school, then he soon became one of his most sought after recruits. With a lack of size on the Raiders roster this year he knew he needed a big man. He went after one of the players he use to gameplan against.
At the beginning of the recruiting phase Cono had Wright State listed at fourth on his list. Coach Ashton and his assistants would soon climb up the list. Promising Cono that he would start his freshman year, get solid playing time and be a solid factor. What mainly sold Cono Ulrich? The coach himself. Cono Ulrich wanted to play for Ryan Ashton. As soon as the time felt right, Coach Ashton offered the scholarship to Cono Ulrich, and within a week he heard back. The answer was yes!
Cono Ulrich was now a Raider.
Coach Ashton on first half of season: "It was a good start to the year. I think right now we should be sitting at 8-3 but not all the games could go our way. We enter conference play this month and I like our chances. We easily had the hardest start to the season out of the teams in our conference. Wisconsin-Milwaukee (5-6) did upset Gonzaga at home, but have not played the same teams we have. They should be a good challenge for us.
On the recruiting end, I can't be any more happy with the work we have done. We went out and got the exact two guys we wanted. We targeted some other solid players that I wish we could have brought here but with so few scholarships this year we got what we needed."
Notables Around The NCAA
- At the end of non-conference play two teams remain undefeated: #1 Tennessee 13-0 and #6 Washington State 11-0.
- One team has still yet to win a game: Denver 0-13
- Pac-10 has 5 teams in the Top-25: #6 Washington St, #12 Washington, #14 USC, #19 Arizona, #20 UCLA
- SEC has 5 teams in the Top-25: #1 Tennessee, #10 Kentucky, #15 Arkansas, #21 Florida, #24 Auburn
- Big Ten has 2 teams in the Top-25: #3 Indiana, #5 Michigan State
- Gonzaga's Ed Waller is the leader for National Player of The Year and Defensive Player of The Year
03-19-2015, 02:00 AM
