Horizon League Dec. 29-Jan. 4 recap

Conference play is officially here across the country, and the Horizon League featured an extremely entertaining first week of league games. The expected favorites have handled business for the most part, but Wright State has emerged as a bit of a surprise in the early goings. Here is a recap of the first official week of league action.

Teams of the week

Wright State has come alive in conference play. The Raiders nearly took down Youngstown State on the road and handled Green Bay in the early conference games, but in the opening week of official conference play, the Raiders put the league on notice. On Monday, despite 27 points from Brody Robinson, Wright State handled Oakland, winning 88-73 and handing the Golden Grizzlies their first conference loss. Solomon Callaghan exploded for 20 points off the bench, and TJ Burch scored 17 alongside Michael Imariagbe’s 15 in the starting lineup. Then, to ring in the new year, Milwaukee made the trip to the Nutter Center and was also handed its first conference loss. Michael Cooper, the Raiders’ leading scorer, didn’t play in the game, but all five starters scored in double figures, led by Imariagbe’s 17, to down the Panthers 76-70. Wright State closed the week with a close win over IU Indianapolis and now sits tied atop the league standings.

Early in the week, Milwaukee, which is still getting comfortable without Seth Hubbard, picked up a big win for conference standings and built some momentum without its leading scorer. On Monday, the Panthers blew out Purdue Fort Wayne 77-55. Aaron Franklin was the lone starter to score in double digits with 13, but Chandler Jackson, Sekou Konneh and Amar Augillard each did so off the bench to lift Milwaukee at home. Isaiah Dorceus also did a great job in this game scoring nine points and adding seven assists. His facilitation was key for the Panthers’ offense as they are working to generate easy looks without Hubbard. 

Joining Wright State atop the standings with a 4-1 conference record is Oakland. After the Golden Grizzlies fell to the Raiders early in the week, they responded with two big wins. First, it was a nail-biter road win over Youngstown State, fending off the Penguins 85-83 for a quality victory. Isaac Garrett poured in a 27-point, 14-rebound double-double to send Oakland home happy. Awaiting the Golden Grizzlies for a Sunday afternoon clash with the defending champs, Robert Morris. Oakland showcased its true potential, scoring nearly 100 points and routing the Colonials 96-73 despite making just three 3-pointers. Isaac Garrett once again led the way with 30 points, including a perfect 16-for-16 day at the free throw line. The team as a whole shot 33-for-37 on free throws and Tuburu Naivalurua added 21 points.

Notable results 

After taking down Notre Dame, the first official week of Horizon League play was unkind to the Mastodons of Purdue Fort Wayne. John Coffman’s group was tasked with the Wisconsin opponents and came up empty-handed. In addition to the aforementioned loss at Milwaukee. On New Year’s Day, Green Bay led the Mastodons by 15 to open the game prior to Purdue Fort Wayne scoring a single point. In the second half, the Mastodons worked to get the lead into single digits, but the early hole was too much to overcome as they fell 72-54. Purdue Fort Wayne did, however, close out the week with a win over Cleveland State.

Green Bay, after the win over Purdue Fort Wayne, now sits just one game below .500 overall and right at .500 in Horizon League action. The Phoenix probably feels like one of the two losses was a game it should’ve had at home against Robert Morris, but given last year’s struggles, this start has been well-received by Green Bay fans. Now, the Phoenix are prepared for an in-state rivalry game with Milwaukee, having a chance to reach double its win total from last season and be better than .500 in league play.

Life for the defending champs wasn’t sweet this week as Robert Morris posted a 1-2 record. The Colonials opened the week at home against Northern Kentucky in a game that featured eight of the 10 total starters tallying double-figure scoring. DeSean Goode led all scorers with 18, but it wasn’t enough as the Norse grabbed a 79-77 victory. Despite a rocky week, the Colonials were able to grab a solid win on the road against Detroit Mercy, which had a chance to finish the week tied for first in the conference. After a slow first half for both squads, Robert Morris trailed 32-27, but once again, the Colonials had four starters score in double figures and dropped 58 points in the second half to down the Titans 85-77. Robert Morris closed the week with the aforementioned Sunday drubbing from Oakland.

Northern Kentucky, which handed Robert Morris a home loss on Monday, had a sneaky good week. The Norse carried the momentum from the road win into home wins over IU Indianapolis, and Youngstown State. After a 1-2 start in Horizon League action, Northern Kentucky has won three straight in the league and sits just a half game back of first place. Donovan Oday led the team in scoring in the first two games with 16 and 18 points, and on Sunday, Dan Gherezgher came through with a 26-point performance, aided by Oday’s 22, to take down the Penguins.

One of the bigger surprises in the league thus far has been Detroit Mercy’s early success. In the past week, the Titans took down Youngstown State on the road 73-68 as Orlando Lovejoy notched 22 points. Despite the previously mentioned loss to Robert Morris in a game that a win would’ve propelled Detroit Mercy into first place in the conference, the growth in year two under Mark Montgomery has been extremely apparent and notable as the season continues.