By SAMANTHA FRANZ

ROCHESTER— While Punxsutawney Phil predicted six more weeks of winter Saturday, the Golden Grizzlies saw a warmer side of Groundhog Day.

With four players in double figures and riding on 61 percent shooting in the second half, the Golden Grizzlies kept the visiting South Dakota State University Jackrabbits at bay to stamp in its third straight victory, 78-68.

“I think we played pretty darned good basketball,” head coach Greg Kampe said.

From the opening tip, Oakland University was in the driver’s seat for almost the entire first half. The Jackrabbits (7-15 overall, 2-9 conference) couldn’t seem to find a way to pull ahead. 

The Golden Grizzlies had a six-point lead at halftime with a score of 39-33, andthey never let the lead up in the second half.

The Jackrabbits would come within four points with 1:30 remaining, after a 6-0 run.But Oakland (12-10, 7-4) sank six straight free throws to close out the 78-68victory.

With South Dakota State’s defense focusing on OU’s big men in the paint, the perimeter was wide-open for junior Erik Kangas and senior Brandon Cassise tom ake plays.

Kangasand sophomore Johnathon Jones led the Grizzlies in scoring with 19 points, with Kangas going 5 for 7 from the three-point arc. Cassise contributed seven points and shot a perfect 4-4 for the free throw line.

“With Kangas and Cassise on the court, that’s a hard matchup,” Jones said. “When wewere pushing up the ball [those two players] got lost in transition a lot, so they had a lot of wide-open shots.”

Althoughthe Golden Grizzlies achieved the victory without major incident, turnovers remain a problem for OU.

After throwing the ball away only five times in Thursday’s matchup against NorthDakota State, OU more than doubled that figure by turning the ball over 15times. The Jackrabbits took advantage, scoring 21 points off of them.

“Werarely get to a situation when we are up by 20 points in a game, because everytime we get on the verge of pulling away, we make foolish mistakes down low and the other team climbs back into it,” Kampe said. “We’re an extremely youngteam, especially inside. I think we’ll improve next year as this team learns and understands.”

Other Golden Grizzlies in double-figures were Derick Nelson, who scored six of his 11points in the second half, and junior Dan Waterstradt, who also tallied 11points and pulled down a game high eight rebounds.

 The Golden Grizzlies will next take onfirst place Oral Roberts University Thursday, Feb. 7. The Golden Eaglesdefeated OU 66-60 on Jan. 12.