Wright's strong 3-point shooting performance wasn't enough for the Rams to get the win on Nov. 22 night; falling to Moraine Valley Community College.
Head coach Carlos Thomas decided to go into the game with a new lineup and sent out four guards to match up with Moraine Valley's small-ball lineup. The four guards Thomas went with were Don McCurdy, Bryson Yarbrough, Javaris Stfort, and Tim Odeyungbo. The man in the middle to start for the Rams was Antony Carty.
The stellar shooting performance started early for the Rams, with guard Bryson Yarbrough nailing three of the team's six first-half 3-point field goals.
While the 3-point shots were falling, the Rams were having a very tough time getting any other offense going in the first half. Moraine Valley did a very good job of denying the ball and forcing Wright into contested shots late in the shot clock.
To end the half, Wright was able to make the necessary adjustments to limit their empty possessions and stop the drought their offense was in. The key to the offense to end the half was to get the ball to center David Lucas in the post and let him work on the smaller defenders. Moraine Valley didn’t have a body quite as big as Lucas, making it tough for their defense to stop him without fouling, which led to free throws and Wright being in the bonus.
At the half, the Rams found themselves trailing 38-30. Wright was able to stick around in the game despite multiple minutes of stagnant offense. The key that Wright needed to follow to have success in the second half was to start converting the easy shots they had and limit the opposing team's drive to the baskets.
In the second half, the Wright 3-point shooting was even stronger than in the first half. In the second, Wright saw 8 3-pointers made, with each of the starting guards making at least one.
On their first possession of the half, Don McCurdy did what he does best and drilled a long-range 3-pointer. Minutes after his first 3-pointer fell, Don went on to make two more in the span of three minutes to cut the deficit down to just one, as the Rams trailed 42-41.
After the nine-point burst from McCurdy, the Rams once again went scoreless for a few minutes. Finally, their scoring drought ended after they were able to get to the free-throw line. Much like the first half when they needed an easy basket, the Rams looked to big man David Lucas in the post.
Going into the final two minutes, the Rams were only down three points.
Wesley Woods took over for Wright down the stretch, taking all the tough shots, and making all of them. With the game tied Woods had the ball in his hands and took a deep three from the top of the key and drained it to give the Rams a 68-65 lead with 23.7 seconds left.
To preserve the game Moraine Valley decided to foul to give them a chance to get the ball back. After Wright missed the free throw, Moraine Valley rushed down the court to get a layup to make it a one-point game.
After Moraine Valley fouled again, Wright was not able to make the free throw and Moraine Valley took off down the court, and with seven seconds left Anthony Taylor found Taijon Barry open to bury the game-winning shot.
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