With 20 seconds left in the game, the Golden Grizzlies had possession of the ball. Guard Sherron Dorsey-Walker stood at the top of the paint dribbling the ball, watching the shot clock as the seconds ticked down. Dorsey-Walker suddenly stopped dribbling and held the ball at his hip as time expired and Oakland won its first game of the season.

The Golden Grizzlies (1-0) took down the Bowling Green State University Falcons (0-1) 78-70 on Friday, Nov. 11 during their home opener game.

“I thought the first half was a typical game for both teams trying to find yourself offensively,” Oakland head coach Greg Kampe said during the postgame press conference. “Defensively I was really, really pleased.”

Play-by-play

The Veterans Day game started with an honorary tipoff from 1998-2000 Oakland basketball player and survivor of the Brussels bombing in March, veteran Sebastien Bellin.

The Golden Grizzlies and Falcons battled for the lead during the first half. Bowling Green held the lead until guard Martez Walker scored a 3-pointer, bringing the score to 6-5 Oakland with 16:56 left in the first half.

But Oakland did not hold onto the lead for long. BGSU took it back 20 seconds later by scoring two points.

The Falcons held onto their lead for majority of the first half, but the Golden Grizzlies soon closed the four-point lead when guard Stevie Clarke made a 3-pointer and brought the score to 13-14 Bowling Green.

Once the gap was closed, BGSU could not keep up with Oakland’s relentless offense. Walker scored some points from the three with assistance from Clarke.

Walker also managed to make a layup when he picked up a loose ball and charged toward the Falcon’s net when there was no defense to stop him.

The Golden Grizzlies pulled away, with the score 35-29 Black and Gold at the end of the half.

Coming back from halftime, the Golden Grizzlies kept up its offensive attacks. Point guard Nick Daniels and Walker each got a layup at the beginning of the second half.

Bowling Green increased the intensity of their defense and started to press Oakland. Despite the Falcons’ defense, Oakland forward Jalen Hayes dominated the court, scoring the next six points for Oakland with assists from Clarke and Dorsey-Walker. Hayes fouled out with 14:00 left in the game.

The score was 60-46 Golden Grizzlies when Bowling Green stepped up their offense and Oakland lost their 14-point lead. The Falcons shrank the lead until the score was 65-61 Oakland with 7:05 left in the game.

Despite BGSU coming back from behind, Dorsey-Walker made two 3-pointers with less than three minutes left in the game.

“I knew we needed a bucket because we hadn’t scored in a while,” Dorsey-Walker said in the postgame press conference. “I just took the shot with confidence. We work on things like this everyday. We work on late-game situations. I just stepped up as a senior and knocked the shot down.”

Oakland pulled ahead and won the game 78-70.

Highlights

Martez Walker led Oakland with 22 points. He went 7-18 from the field and 6-6 from the free-throw line.

Dorsey-Walker scored 17 points during the game with 14 rebounds and three assists. He went 4-10 from the field, 4-5 from the three and 5-7 from the free-throw line.

Hayes went 6-8 from the field and 2-3 from the free-throw line. He scored 14 points in total.

For BGSU, forward Wes Alcegaire led the team with 19 points. He went 7-13 from the field goal and 4-7 from the 3-point line.

Guard Zack Denny scored 15 points for the Falcons, went 6-19 from the field and was the only player to play more than 30 minutes.

At halftime, Oakland men’s basketball celebrated its 50th anniversary by honoring the first men’s basketball team, established in 1966.

Gordie Tebo played point guard for Oakland from 1966-1970 and held the record for assists at one point in time. He helped round up the first men’s team to get them back on the court for the anniversary celebration.

“It was a great tribute,” Tebo said. “The guys came in from seven different states . . . and they had such a great time playing ball.”

The Golden Grizzlies take on Western Michigan University at 7 p.m. Monday night on the Blacktop at the O’rena.