After putting out their best offensive performance of the season the game before, the Oakland University men’s basketball team followed it up with their worst, falling 65-45 at Alabama on Saturday afternoon.

The loss dropped the Golden Grizzlies (7-10, 2-1 Summit) to 3-10 on the road this season.

Oakland and Alabama (7-5) traded baskets early, with the Grizzlies holding slim leads at several points throughout the first half. However, OU’s offense struggled mightily in the opening frame, shooting 23 percent from the field and failing to hit a three-pointer.

Over the last 11 minutes of regulation in the first half, Oakland managed only two field goals. The Crimson Tide used a 16-4 run to take a 29-23 lead into the locker room.

Alabama opened the second half with a 14-4 run. Oakland responded with a 10-2 run to narrow the deficit to single digits, but Alabama used a 12-1 scamper to put the game away.

Similar to the first half, Oakland went cold down the stretch, only hitting three field goals over the last 11 minutes of the game.

On Thursday night, Oakland put up their highest total against a Division I opponent, scoring 91 points in a win over Omaha. In that game each starter was in double figures. The 45 points today marked the lowest output for the entire season.

Junior guards Duke Mondy and Travis Bader led the Grizzlies with 11 and 10 respectively. Sophomore guard Matt Poches had a career-high 10 points off the bench. Overall the Grizzlies shot a dismal 16-59 from the floor and only hit two three-pointers in the contest.

Alabama outrebounded OU 36-29 and was led by junior guard Trevor Releford, who scored 18.

The loss marked the last non-conference game of the season before the Sears BracketBuster tilt in late February. The opponent for that game will not be announced for several weeks.

Oakland will now focus on their Summit League rivals the rest of the way, traveling to South Dakota State on Jan. 10.