Wright State Captures 2022 Keeps Horizon League Men's Basketball Championship
By Owen Kaelble
Sports Capital Journalism Program, IUPUI
INDIANAPOLIS – The 2022 Keeps Horizon League Men’s Basketball Championship Game came down to the wire. Trailing by one point with 10 seconds left, junior guard Trey Calvin knocked in a mid-range jumper to give Wright State a one-point lead and an advantage the Raiders would not relinquish in a 72-71 victory over Northern Kentucky at the Indiana Farmers Coliseum on Tuesday night.
For the Raiders, the trip to the tournament is their third as Horizon League champion, their fourth in program history, and their first since 2018. The triumph is also paired with other emotions, however. With the loss of loved ones to COVID-19 and other illnesses a common theme these past two years, teammates Grant Basile, Tanner Holden, AJ Braun, James Manns, and head coach Scott Nagy share a solemn bond that goes beyond basketball.
“I’m obviously grateful and proud of not quitting because obviously it didn’t look good,” Nagy said. “Some sadness, if I were to be honest - my dad not being here, Grant’s grandpa, Tanner’s grandpa, AJ’s dad, my son’s grandpa, and James’ grandmother. People that were so instrumental in our lives that we didn’t get to share this with in a physical sense. So there’s just a lot, a lot of emotions.”
With just under 12 minutes left, the Raiders (21-13) were treading water, down 16, 57-41. What followed was a 22-4 run led by Holden, a junior who scored 15 of his 19 points in the second half, finishing the night with four rebounds and three steals to add to the stat total. Basile, a junior and Horizon League Tournament Most Valuable Player, added 18 points of his own, with seven rebounds and three assists.
After trading buckets down the stretch, redshirt junior Tim Finke gave the Raiders a three point lead with a 3-pointer with just over four minutes to go. The lead for Wright State got as big as four with a free throw from Holden, but the Norse (20-12) fought back to take the lead, 71-70, on a Marques Warrick 3-pointer from the corner with 20 seconds left.
On the following possession, Calvin hit the jumper with a good look that gave the Raiders the one-point lead. In the waning seconds, Langdon forced a contested three and the buzzer sounded, giving the Raiders the comeback victory.
The second half was a tale of two runs. Coming into the final 20 minutes with a seven-point lead, the Norse went on an 18-9 run to open the final period, with 14 of the 18 points scored by Warrick, who finished the night with 28 points, 21 of those coming in the second stanza. The lead grew as high as 16, when the Raiders began their comeback.
Senior guard Trevon Faulkner contributed 14 points in the losing effort, while Chicago product Bryson Langdon added 12 points and two assists of his own. Similar to the semifinal, junior Chris Brandon paced the team in rebounds, nabbing seven boards.
“I’m so proud of our guys, they fought their butts off all year long,” said Norse head coach Darrin Horn. “I don’t remember the exact date, but at one point we’re 5-8, mid January. I don’t think anybody thought we’d be sitting here, but we’ve got a group of high character guys that really came together, worked, believed and put in the time to put us in this position.”
In the first 20 minutes, the Raiders kept within arm’s reach of the Norse by attacking the glass, totaling 10 offensive rebounds and 11 more shot attempts in the first half alone. Calvin scored 15 of his 21 points in the first half, as the group from Ohio went into the locker room down seven.
“I feel like we did a great job of just not panicking,” said Holden. “We got stops. I was always kind of worried about offense, but at the end of the day it’s about defense. And I think we really stepped up on the defensive end.”