Love, Wright St. beat Milwaukee in Horizon League semifinals

Mar 6, 2018, 04:49 am

DETROIT -- Freshman Loudon Love scored 18 points and grabbed 12 rebounds -- his 13th double-double -- to help second-seeded Wright State beat No. 6 seed Milwaukee 59-53 in the Horizon League Tournament semifinals on Monday night.

The Raiders (24-9), who set the program's D-I record for wins in a season, will play No. 8 seed Cleveland State for the championship and an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament on Tuesday.

Love scored the first four points, and Parker Ernsthausen added five more, in a 17-4 run that spanned halftime and gave Wright State a 35-27 lead with 12 minutes to play. Milwaukee (16-16) made just 2 of 15 from the field during that span and trailed the rest of the way. Jeremiah Bell's layup pulled the Panthers within three points with 1:48 to play, but the Raiders made 11 of 12 from the free-throw line from there to seal it.

Bell led Milwaukee with 22 points, including five 3-pointers, and Brock Stull scored 13. Bryce Nze grabbed 15 rebounds to set the program's single-season record with 280, breaking Matt Tiby's mark of 272 set in 2015-16.