On Thursday, Nov. 14, the Oakland men’s basketball team defeated the Bowling Green State University (BGSU) Falcons 81-62 in the team’s home opener at the OU Credit Union O’rena.
“I’m really pleased,” head coach Greg Kampe said. “I think that we showed some things. I’m really excited about our future.”
Forward Trey Townsend led the way for the Golden Grizzlies, scoring 20 points while knocking down 50% of his shot attempts. Additionally, Townsend posted four rebounds, four assists and three steals while cashing in four of his five free throw attempts.
Guards Jack Gohlke and DQ Cole also made sizable contributions to the Golden Grizzlies. Gohlke tallied 14 points, seven rebounds and two steals, while Cole converted four of his five shot attempts for 12 points while notching three steals off the bench.
“It’s just an everyday process,” Cole said. “Every day in practice, I try to be the best player and best teammate I can be. So coming off the bench is not a problem, I’m just trying to be that spark plug the team needs off the bench to help us get victories like this.”
The Golden Grizzlies jumped ahead early, scoring the first seven points of the night while holding BGSU scoreless in the first three minutes of the half. However, the Falcons eventually battled back and tied the game at 7-7.
Following two straight 3-point conversions from Gohlke, the Golden Grizzlies jumped back into the driver’s seat as the team led 15-9 with 12 minutes remaining in the first half.
Midway through the first, the OU zone defense started to take a toll on the Falcons as the team came away empty-handed on multiple offensive possessions. Additionally, the Golden Grizzlies’ defense led to numerous BGSU turnovers.
“Our zone is designed to take the three away,” Kampe said. “I thought we adjusted well, my staff saw something I didn’t see, and we took that away. I thought the kids did a great job at adjusting to what they were doing.”
Although the Falcons did come within four points of the Golden Grizzlies late in the first half, forward Chris Conway answered by scoring two consecutive baskets before Gohlke nailed two free throws as Oakland led 38-28 at the half.
“There aren’t a lot of post players that play in the Horizon League that can score the ball the way he [Conway] can score it in the post,” Kampe said. “And when you put him next to Trey, you have to make a decision: who’s guarding who, right?”
In the second half, the Falcons started to keep up with the Golden Grizzlies but never formed a significant comeback. The closest BGSU got to the Grizzly lead was narrowing their deficit down to seven points two minutes into the second.
In the later part of the second half, OU started to pull away with the lead. With six minutes remaining, the Golden Grizzlies went on a 12-0 run, extending their lead to the biggest of the night at 73-52.
BGSU answered with a 7-0 run of their own, but it was a little too late as the Golden Grizzlies scored five unanswered points in the final minute and came away with their first win of the regular season.
Notably, the Golden Grizzlies limited the Falcons to just a 25% success rate from distance. Additionally, OU scored 27 points off turnovers and 11 fastbreak points. In comparison, BGSU tallied 11 points off turnovers and just two fastbreak points.
Next, the Golden Grizzlies will face off against the Xavier Musketeers on Monday, Nov. 27, on the road. The team will play its next home game against the Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons on Saturday, Dec. 2.
