In their first clash against a mid-major this season, the Oakland men’s basketball team narrowly lost to the Eastern Michigan Eagles, ending with a score of 68-64 at the OU Credit Union O’Rena on Thursday, Nov. 21.
“This hurt. For the rest of our non-conference games, there isn’t one where we’re favored to win,” head coach Greg Kampe said. “You got to get the ones at home, and you got to get ones that you think you can get.”
This season, the Golden Grizzlies Achilles’ heel has been their shooting from beyond the arc, and that theme continued against the Eagles. Oakland shot 16.7% from beyond the arc, making just three of their 18 three-point attempts.
In fact, among all 355 Division I men’s basketball teams, the Golden Grizzlies rank dead last in efficiency from beyond the arc, converting just 20.3% of their attempts, according to NCAA.com.
“It’s all up in their heads, and our offense is historically bad right now, and that’s why there’s a chance we can turn this around because water does find its level,” Kampe said. “Those guys can shoot, and eventually, we’ll start shooting, but we got to get mentally tougher. You give up 68 points at home; you should win.”
Buru Naivalurua led Oakland in scoring, chipping in 16 points, four rebounds and two steals against the Eagles. DQ Cole snagged a team-high 14 rebounds while also tallying 12 points and three assists. Jaylen Jones led the team in assists off the bench, dishing out five.
For the Eagles, Arne Osojnik contributed a team-best 16 points while also recording four rebounds and two assists. Da’Sean Nelson led Eastern Michigan in rebounds, bringing in seven while distributing the Eagles’ most assists with five.
In the first half, the Golden Grizzlies set the tone early, with Jayson Woodrich scoring on a layup to start the game. As a result, Oakland built up a slight lead that was not relinquished in the game’s initial stages with buckets from Allen Mukeba, Nassim Mashhour and Cole.
After Mukeba fouled Christian Henry towards the end of the first, the Eagles brought the game back, tying it at 26-26 with just under five minutes to go. Despite this, Oakland entered the break on a high note, scoring the half’s last six points, giving them an eight-point lead to end the first.
At the start of the second, Eastern Michigan wasted no time taking their first lead of the game. The Eagles went on a 14-2 run through the first seven minutes of the second, flipping a six-point deficit into an eight-point lead.
In the game’s final minutes, Oakland managed to cut deep into an Eagles lead that stood since they gained it in the half’s opening minutes.
Down by two with a minute left, the Golden Grizzlies got a defensive stop that gave the team life, but Cole’s three-point attempt to take back the lead rattled out. Naivalurua collected Cole’s miss, but his layup refused to fall.
With just four seconds left on the clock, a pair of free throws from Eastern Michigan’s Jalen Terry sealed the game, giving the Eagles their first win over Oakland since the 2017-18 season.
Next, the Golden Grizzlies will look to get back on track as they take a road trip to face off against the Toledo Rockets on Saturday, Nov. 30, before they host the Wright State Raiders on Thursday, Dec. 5, in the first conference game of the season.
