Wright State, known for its explosive offense, made the final defensive stop Tuesday night to win the Barbasol #HLMBB Championship final over No. 3 seed Detroit Mercy 66-63. The Raiders won the regular season and tournament and will carry the Horizon League banner into the NCAA Tournament.
Leading 65-63, Wright State found itself on defense with the clock winding down and a championship on the line. Detroit Mercy’s Orlando Lovejoy (6'3''-G) drove to the basket but WSU’s Kellen Pickett (6'9''-F) blocked his shot with 0.5 seconds left and Wright State punched its ticket to March Madness.
The title is the fourth in school history for Wright State and its first since 2022. WSU also won the league tourney championship in 2018 and 2007.
Detroit Mercy, just two years removed from a 1-31 season, held a 50-39 lead with 8:53 left before Wright State made the championship-clinching plays. A 15-4 Raider run tied the game with 3:40 on the clock. Logan Woods (6'5''-G) hit a pair of 3-pointers just 50 seconds apart to put the Raiders ahead for good.
Lovejoy scored four points in the final minute to keep the Titans alive, but his final act was stuffed at the rim by Pickett in the game’s final play.
TJ Burch (6'1''-G) was the MVP of the tournament, finishing with 19 points to lead Wright State’s scoring. Pickett added 17 with four blocks, including the game-winning stop.
Lovejoy finished with 26 points for DET, which won 17 games this season after winning a combined nine the previous two years. TJ Nadeau (6'5''-G) added 21 points.
Wright State survived despite trailing for double digits on multiple occasions. WSU missed its first 10 3-point shots before making four late in the game, including the pivotal shots by Woods.
Wright State will enter the NCAA Tournament having won seven of its last eight games.
Quotable: “We have a ton of respect for Coach Montgomery and his staff. They’re tough and they’re physical,” Wright State head coach Clint Sargent said. “For our players, it felt awful (struggling to score early). But we had to keep making winning decisions, and that’s what they did. That’s kind of been our team throughout the year. Each guy has had a moment where they’ve stepped up and not only played well, but hit big shots.
“We’re honored to represent the Horizon League and we’re very thankful.”
“Of course it’s disappointing, but at the same time I’m really proud of my guys,” Detroit Mercy head coach Mark Montgomery said. “We were a possession away from winning the game. It was a hard-fought game, you have to give Wright State a lot of credit. We were up 12 points and they kept fighting. We kept fighting too. Unfortunately, we just came up a little short.”

Final:
Wright State - Detroit Mercy 66-63

Semis:
Wright State - Northern Kentucky 103-90
RMU - Detroit Mercy 64-70

Courtesy of horizonleague.org