The Oakland University men’s basketball team is one win closer to the finish line, as the team defeated the Cleveland State University (CSU) Vikings on Monday, March 11, at the Indiana Farmers Coliseum with a final score of 74-71.
Winning the match gives the Grizzlies a chance to compete in the Horizon League Championship for the first time in three years.
Jack Gohlke led the Grizzlies in scoring, converting on 7-15 of his attempts for 21 points. Furthermore, Gohlke was elite from the three-point line, as all but one of his shot attempts came from deep.
In addition to Gohlke, DQ Cole and Trey Townsend came up big in the Grizzlies’ win. Cole had 20 points on 8-16 shooting, while Townsend put up 15 points, eight rebounds, four assists and three steals.
Although the Grizzlies played at a neutral site in the game, OU fans made their presence known. Between the band, the cheerleaders and the fact that Grizzly fans outnumbered the number of CSU fans that showed up, the environment felt like home sweet home.
Despite the energy from the crowd, the Grizzlies got off to a slow start. The Vikings forced OU into some turnovers and a couple of bad shot attempts in the game’s opening minutes. Additionally, CSU took advantage of their strong defense by cranking up their momentum on the fast break.
However, about five minutes into the first half, a corner three from Jack Gohlke put the first points on the board for the Grizzlies and brought the team back together offensively. With 9:42 left in the first half, the Grizzlies trailed by just three points, a moderate improvement after going down 5-0 to start the game.
A few possessions later, OU took their first lead of the night with less than eight minutes left in the first half. Notably, Gohlke, DQ Cole, Tone Hunter and Townsend combined to score nine consecutive points together to take the lead back.
The final five minutes of the first was an intense back-and-forth battle between both teams. With multiple ties and lead changes, the Grizzlies and the Vikings could not find a way to surpass one another, and the teams went into halftime tied 38-38.
At the start of the second half, the Grizzlies started to show dominance. In the opening five minutes of the half, OU held CSU to just four points. Additionally, Gohlke continued to cause issues, catching fire from three as the Grizzlies quickly jumped to a ten-point lead.
Although the Grizzlies enjoyed a small stretch of basketball with a comfortable double-digit lead, the Vikings started to catch up to OU as the game proceeded in the second half. At one point, CSU went on a 10-0 run that lasted almost four minutes.
After catching some lucky breaks on defense, and with the crowd on their feet, Gohlke connected from three for a seventh time, rebuilding the OU lead back up to 67-62 with less than five minutes left in the game.
Unfortunately for the Grizzlies, Drew Lowder sunk a deep three late into the half, breaking a streak of 23:46 minutes without CSU converting from deep and tying the game 69-69.
However, in the final two minutes of the match, Townsend made it to the line for four free throw attempts, scoring what would be the go-ahead free throws for the Grizzlies, as Townsend cashed in on three of them.
The Vikings did have an opportunity to tie the game, as Jayson Woodrich got to attempt three free throws in the game’s final seconds. However, CSU could not convert on the court. As a result, the Grizzlies survived the Vikings and got another opportunity to expand their schedule in March.
Next on the agenda, OU will play the winner of the semifinal matchup between the Northern Kentucky Norse and the Milwaukee Panthers in the Horizon League Championship at the Indiana Farmers Coliseum on Tuesday, March 12.
The winner of the Horizon League Championship will play in the NCAA Division I men’s tournament, which the Grizzlies have not appeared in since 2011. Additionally, OU last won a conference championship in the 2010-11 season.
