The top-seeded Oakland University men’s basketball game moved within two games of its ultimate goal by knocking off UMKC, 85-70, in the opening round of the Summit League tournament Saturday night.

The Golden Grizzlies shot 55.6 percent from the field and out-rebounded the Kangaroos by a 2-to-1 margin, 46-23.

“”I’m very pleased with the way we played, and I’m not sure we can play any better,” Grizzlies head coach Greg Kampe said. “I thought we were outstanding. I thought our bench was phenomenal.”

An early 20-10 lead by Oakland dissolved quickly as UMKC went on an 11-0 run to move within two points of a tie at 28-26.

But the Grizzlies opened the margin back up with a dunk by Keith Benson and several offensive rebounds providing second chance possessions.

OU carried a 10-point, 45-35 lead into halftime and the score only became more lopsided after the break.

After taking an elbow to the face two minutes into the game, senior forward Derick Nelson was sidelined for the first half and briefly left the Grizzlies bench as he applied ice to his nose. But Nelson returned for the second half and scored 12 of his 14 points after the break.

“I was rested when I was laying in the back on the table (in the first half). I was pretty fresh in the second half and knocked down a couple shots,” Nelson said.

He may have eased the worries of Grizzlies fans in the second half as he drove the lane and converted several difficult shots to expand Oakland’s lead to as many as 22 points.

With the game put away, Kampe emptied his bench in the final minutes, using all 11 players that dressed.

All five Oakland starters scored at least 10 points with Larry Wright leading the way with 16 points off 6-of-12 shooting.

Junior Keith Benson had a first half double-double and finished with 14 points, 13 rebounds and one emphatic rejection block.

Oakland came out firing from 3-point range, hitting on six of its first seven shots from behind the arc in the first 10 minutes.

Filling in for the injured Drew Maynard, sophomore Blake Cushingberry reached double figures for just the fourth time this season with 10 points along with five rebounds. He hit two 3-pointers in the opening minutes.

(The early 3-pointers) brought a lot of confidence for me. It opened up the game for a lot of the players too,” Cushingberry said.

“Obviously, Oakland is a terrific team,” UMKC head coach Matt Brown said. “I think Oakland will be a great representative for the league. We really competed in the first half, but unfortunately we got into foul trouble.”

Just two games now separate the Grizzlies from the championship they’ve been seeking since last year’s heart-breaking loss to North Dakota State in the same arena.

“We waited 365 days to get back here, and not one of those days has gone by without us talking about it,” Kampe said.

The Grizzlies will face the winner of Sunday’s matchup between No. 4 South Dakota State and No. 5 IPFW.