The Oakland University men’s basketball team dropped the conference opener, falling on the road to Western Illinois, 73-63 on Thursday night.

The loss marked the sixth defeat in the last seven away games for the Golden Grizzlies (5-9, 0-1), who

had previously won three straight league openers before Thursday.

Western Illinois (9-3, 3-0) shot significantly better than OU, with the Leathernecks going 62.5 percent

from the floor, while the Grizzlies only managed 41.8 percent.

The Leathernecks utilized a 15-2 run in the first half to take a 31-27 lead at halftime.

Late in the game, Oakland answered with a run of their own, an 11-4 push that tied it up at 55 with just

over five minutes to play.

From that point, Western Illinois scored eight unanswered points, cruising to a victory that snapped an

11 game losing streak to Oakland inside Western Hall.

Oakland’s offense sputtered down the stretch, only managing three field goals in the last five minutes of

regulation, with two coming in the final 49 seconds.

Junior guard Ryan Bass led all the OU attack with 18 points. Sophomore center Corey Petros chipped in

a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Junior guard Travis Bader also had 15 points despite

failing to score a basket in the last fifteen minutes of the game.

Oakland’s bench was outscored 17-6.

For the Leathernecks, senior forward Terell Parks led all scorers with 19 points, going 8 of 10 from the

field, and chipping in a team-high eight rebounds. Junior forward Adam Link added 16 points.

OU continues Summit League play with a trip to Indianapolis, Ind. on Dec. 29 to play IUPUI at 3pm.

Following that contest, the Grizzlies return home to the O’rena on Jan. 3 to host Omaha.