Dec. 22, 2005

Box Score

Wright State University held the Broncs' offense in check as the Raiders came away with a 63-53 victory at the Ervin J. Nutter Center in Dayton, OH, on Thursday (Dec. 22).

The Raiders jumped all over the Broncs early in the game as Wright State took a 10-point lead at 16-6 with 14:00 minutes remaining in the first half on a baseline jumper from Jordan Pleiman. That lead would soon increase to 14 points at 27-13 when Pleiman once again drilled a jumper, but this time it came off a missed shot by Walter Chancellor.

The Broncs would get the scoring deficit down to eight points with 1:15 remaining in the first half when Dexter Shankle (Katy, TX/James E. Taylor H.S.) connected on one of two free throw attempts. After a jumper by Chancellor with 48 seconds remaining, the Raiders would sail into the locker room up by 10 points. UTPA's 21 total points in the first half was a season-low for the Valley's squad.

In the second half, the Broncs would once again get within eight points at 35-27 following the first of two three-pointers by Johnathan Chatman (Chicago, IL/Sheridan College), who finished the game with six points. The Raiders and Broncs would trade field goals for the next three minutes before Wright State was able to extend its lead to 14 points at 48-34 on a lay-in by DaShaun Wood at the 8:32 mark.

Once again, the Broncs and Raiders would trade field goals until the Broncs were able to cut at the lead to nine points with 3:45 remaining when senior Derrick East (Binger, OK/Lookeba-Sickles H.S.) connected on a pair of free throws to put the score at 52-43. However - that would be the closest that the Broncs would get to the Raiders as Wright State went into the locker room with a 63-53 triumph.

Matt Braeuer finished with 16 points on 6-11 shooting, and Wood capped his evening with 11 points while Ryan Martin added 10 points and eight rebounds. Pleiman notched eight points and 11 rebounds in 28 minutes of action.

For the second straight game, Colin Lien (Waterloo, IA/Southeastern C.C.) was the top scorer for the Broncs as he finished with 12 points on 5-12 shooting in 22 minutes of play time. Larry Sheppard (Baton Rouge, LA/Iowa Western C.C.) added 11 points, four rebounds, four assists and two steals in 36 minutes while Kano Edwards (Bridgeport, CT/Western Nebraska C.C.) notched nine points and three rebounds.

For the game, Wright State connected on 42.3 percent (22-52) of its attempts compared to 37.5 percent (18-48) for the Broncs. The Raides held a 24-14 advantage in points in the paint and a 10-0 edge in fast break points.

With the victory, Wright State improved to 3-5 on the season while the Broncs dropped to 2-10 and continued their eight-game losing streak.

The Broncs will be back in action on Thursday (Dec. 28) as they travel to Corvallis, OR, for a match-up against PAC-10 opponent Oregon State University. Game time is set for 9:05 central time.

UTPA Sports Information