By Don Owen
NKyTribune reporter
To the energized crowd of 6,776 inside BB&T Arena, Friday night’s showdown between Wright State and Northern Kentucky meant everything from a present-moment basketball perspective.
But as far as the long-term goal of advancing to the NCAA Tournament, the outcome determined virtually nothing except who might wear their light-colored jerseys in about 11 days if there is a third round between the two Horizon League heavyweights.
That’s the only way to look at Wright State’s 64-62 victory at NKU, a triumph that clinched the Horizon League regular-season championship for the visiting Raiders. Wright State (25-6 overall) held off a late rally and defeated NKU for the second time this season to earn the No. 1 seed in the Horizon League Tournament.
NKU dropped to 21-9 overall, 13-5 in the Horizon League. The Norse will be the No. 2 seed in the Horizon League Tournament and also receive a bye into the semifinals on March 9.
The winner of that event earns the automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament. Wright State, however, did secure a guaranteed spot in the NIT if it fails to win the Horizon League Tournament.
Jalen Tate scored 24 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead NKU, which nearly rallied from an 11-point deficit in the second half despite shooting just 33.9 percent from the field. After a furious rally in the final three minutes, Trevon Faulkner’s 3-pointer with 13 seconds remaining in the game cut the Wright State lead to 62-60.
Wright State’s Cole Gentry responded by hitting a pair of free throws with 12 seconds left to make it a 64-60 game. Faulkner then made a layup while being fouled with 1.7 seconds remaining to cut the deficit to 64-62. The sophomore attempted to miss the free throw to give NKU a chance to grab an offensive rebound, but he was called for a lane violation and Wright State escaped with the win.
NKU shot just 5-for-27 from 3-point range, but Tate said NKU missed other chances as well.
“Free throws and layups pretty much told the whole story,” Tate said of NKU’s downfall. “We just didn’t convert, or we’d force a turnover and turn it over right back. I thought we fought like heck to get back into the game, and I’m proud of our guys for that. But free throws and layups were the biggest difference.”
Love netted 15 points in the opening half. The 6-foot-9, 260-pound junior scored 13 of Wright State’s first 16 points, powering his way inside for six early baskets. Love finished just 4-for-10 from the charity stripe and was 8-for-19 from the field.
Bill Wampler also added a double-double (11 points, 11 rebounds) for Wright State, which earlier this season had posted a 95-63 win over NKU at the Nutter Center.
The Norse finished 11-4 at home this season, with three of those setbacks coming against Horizon League teams. As part of Senior Night festivities, NKU honored Karl Harris, Tyler Sharpe and Walton prior to the game.
“If I could coach our three seniors for the next 20 years, I’d be a happy guy,” NKU head coach Darrin Horn said. “They come to work every day, have great attitudes and are coachable.”
Wright State is now 26-12 all-time against NKU. The Raiders own a 7-5 advantage in the series since NKU moved to the NCAA Division I level.
NKU will learn its opponent for the Horizon League Tournament semifinals after next week’s opening two rounds. As the No. 2 seed, NKU will meet the highest-remaining seed on March 9 at 9:30 p.m.
Wright State will face the lowest-remaining seed at 7 p.m. on March 9. The championship is set for 7 p.m. on March 10.
WRIGHT STATE 64, NORTHERN KENTUCKY 62
WRIGHT STATE (64)
Wampler 3-10 4-5 11, Love 8-19 4-10 20, Gentry 4-10 2-2 12, Holden 2-3 2-5 6, Hall 2-6 4-4 9, Ash 0-1 0-2 0, Basile 2-4 0-0 4, Calvin 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 22-56 16-28 64.
NORTHERN KENTUCKY (62)
Sharpe 2-9 0-0 6, Adheke 0-0 2-2 2, Faulkner 3-9 2-3 9, Walton 6-19 2-3 15, Langdon 1-7 0-0 2, Tate 8-15 7-12 24, Harris 0-0 0-0 0, Nelson 1-2 2-2 4, Djoko 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 21-62 15-22 62.
HALFTIME: WSU 36-29. 3-POINTERS: (NKU 5-27, WSU 4-16). REBOUNDS: NKU 37 (Tate, Walton 9), WSU 46 (Love 14).
RECORDS: WSU 25-6, 15-3 HL; NKU 21-9, 13-5 HL.
