CEDAR CITY, Utah – The Oakland University men’s basketball team notched its third straight win with a 72 – 63 victory over the Southern Utah Thunderbirds. With the win, the Golden Grizzlies (11-10; 5-4 Summit League) became one of only four teams in the Summit League with a winning record.

The Thunderbirds (9-10, 4-5 Summit League) came into the game as the eleventh best shooting team in the NCAA; but were held to 37.9 shooting by a stingy Oakland defense. The Golden Grizzlies countered with an impressive 48.9 shooting percentage.

Star senior guard Reggie Hamilton led all scorers with 21 points and seven assists. Redshirt senior guard Laval Lucas-Perry added 14 points and freshman center Corey Petros had 13.

For Southern Utah, only two players were in double figures. Ramell Taylor had 17 and Damon Heuir added 11.

The Grizzlies also had the upper hand in the rebounding department, beating the Thunderbirds 34-29.  Junior forward Drew Valentine and Petros each recorded eight rebounds to lead the team.

Despite recording their seventh straight victory over Southern Utah, the win was far from easy. The Golden Grizzlies trailed early in the first half before taking a 33-26 lead into halftime.

The Thunderbirds narrowed the Grizzlies’ lead to 45-42 in the second half, but were never able to make it closer than that. Oakland won despite struggling from the foul line. Southern Utah went a perfect 14-14 from the charity stripe while Oakland went 22-35 from the same distance.

Oakland hopes to carry its momentum into probably their biggest game of the season. On Saturday, the Grizzlies head to Tulsa, Ok. to face Summit League rival Oral Roberts.

ORU is 16-4 on the season, including a perfect 8-0 in the Summit League.