Excerpt from the Dayton Daily News
Wright State coach Scott Nagy has been grousing about his team’s occasionally lackluster defense despite a string of road wins and a gaudy record, certain it eventually would catch up to the Raiders.
In a 76-72 loss at UIC, it did.
The Flames shot 51.5 percent in the first half and 49.2 for the game in handing Wright State its first loss in seven road games and ending its eight-game winning streak overall.
All-Horizon League guard Tarkus Ferguson had 12 points, 10 rebounds and five assists, and forwards Michael Diggins (20 points) and Jordan Blount (16) dominated inside for UIC (7-12, 2-4), which ended a four-game losing skid Sunday.
“I told the players, it’s such a tremendous responsibility to be the top dog,” Nagy said on his post-game radio show. “When I watched our guys tonight, it looked like everyone was carrying about 1,000 pounds on their backs. I don’t know if it was the pressure of that or what.
“But even a team like UIC, playing us is going to bring out the best in them and force them to play more together than they have in the past. And they did.”
The Raiders (15-4, 5-1) were trying to notch only their second 6-0 start in conference play in 29 years as a league member, but they fell behind by 15 early in the second half before staging a furious rally.
