Grizzlies homecourt winning streak snapped at 11 in loss to Ohio
Ending an 11-game home court winning streak, turnovers and missed opportunities led the Oakland men’s basketball team to a 84-82 loss against the Ohio Bobcats in the O’rena Wednesday night.
The Grizzlies committed a season-high of 22 turnovers, giving Ohio the opportunity to capitalize and score 31 points off those mistakes.
“When you play the type of schedule we play … you’re going to have games that are hard to get up and ready for,” Head Coach Greg Kampe said. “Basically, we weren’t ready to play tonight.”
Travis Bader, who finished with 21 points, missed a layup with under 16 seconds left on the Grizzlies final possession to end Oakland’s chance of a tie.
Center Corey Petros set his career high with 23 points and 16 rebounds, his fourth double-double of the season, while playing for season-high 39 minutes.
“I just did what I was taught by the coaches,” Petros said. “The guards (also) did a good job of giving me the ball down low.”
Reggie Hamilton matched Petros’ total, with 23 point, seven assists, but also had seven turnovers.
“(Being double teamed) is something I have to expect from the other team,” Hamilton said. “I have to be aware of that and make adjustments.”
Drawing a foul from the three-point line with 42 seconds left, Hamilton hit three free throws to cut the Ohio lead by three, but fouled out with just 32 seconds remaining.
“I let my team down tonight,” Hamilton said. “I did some uncharacteristic things.”
The Grizzlies shot 52 percent overall (28-54) but were 7-23 from the three point line.
The Bobcats also out rebounded the Grizzlies 33 to 32.
Ohio shot 50 percent from both the field and three-point line, along with scoring 15 unanswered points during the first half.
D.J Cooper led the Bobcats with 18 points and four assists. Stevie Cooper went 3-4 from the three-point line and added 13 points.
The Bobcats scored 42 points of the bench and shot 44 percent from the three-point line (12-27).
“Its a long season and bad things are going to happen sometimes,” Kampe said. “You hope that you’re good enough to make a play to win.”
Oakland is now 1-3 all-time against Ohio, and 18-39 overall against MAC opponents.
The Grizzlies hope to rebound on Saturday against the Michigan Wolverines, who are ranked 20 in the Associated Press poll, at the Palace of Auburn Hills at 4 p.m.