Oakland University men’s basketball (3-6) defeated Rochester College (11-4) 88-77 at the Athletics Center O’rena on Thursday night.

Junior guard Travis Bader led all scorers with 32 points. Sophomore center Corey Petros finished with 23 points and six rebounds. Oakland shot 54 percent.

“I’m very pleased with the win tonight,” Head Coach Greg Kampe said. “We beat a really good team. I think we beat them handily too, which we needed to do.”

Senior forward Drew Maynard of Rochester College returned to the O’rena for the first time since leaving Oakland two years ago. He finished with a double-double, scoring 22 points and grabbing 11 rebounds.

“I thought the one thing I noticed about Drew was he really rebounded on the defensive end for Rochester,” Kampe said. “That was really impressive.”

Rochester scored the game’s first four points. Oakland answered with an 11-0 run, putting them in control of the game.

That stretch included Bader’s first of six three-pointers. The basket extended Oakland’s streak of consecutive games with a three-pointer made to 745 games.

To put that in perspective, the last time they didn’t make a three-pointer in a game was Jan. 30, 1988 against Wayne State University.

Oakland struggled with their free throw shots early on, despite ample opportunities.

“We were 2-8 (shooting free throws) at one point and that’s like turnovers,” Kampe said. “That’s empty possessions. They got back in the game. When you miss eight free throws, those are turnovers.”

Oakland ended the first half by going on a 16-1 run. Sophomore guard Matt Poches made a shot at the buzzer, giving him 9 points in the first half.

Poches started over junior guard Ryan Bass who was out of the game after scratching his eye in practice. Poches stepped up, finishing the game with 17 points in 35 minutes.

“Tonight he looked like the guy we recruited,” Kampe said. “He was fearless, he went to the basket. Matt will defend and he’ll play hard and he has size. That’s what I like about him.”

Oakland began the second half the same way they ended the first. Just two minutes into the half, the Golden Grizzlies extended their lead to 54-29.

Rochester attempted to come back, going on a 10-1 run midway through the second half. Oakland’s defense held Rochester off to secure their third win of the season, ending their three game losing streak.

“We’re a hard working team,” Bader said. “The last couple of games things weren’t going our way, balls weren’t going our way, shots weren’t going our way, stuff like that. So tonight, to have one of these kinds of games. For some guys like Matt Poches to come in and step up and for us to knock down shots is really good for us.”

Oakland is back on the road against Ohio Dec. 8. They return to the O’rena against Valparaiso Dec. 17 at 7 p.m.