The Golden Grizzlies men’s basketball team won in thrilling fashion over Oral Roberts Saturday, with senior point guard Johnathon Jones hitting a go-ahead jump shot with 1.2 seconds remaining on the game clock to lift Oakland University to a 79-77 victory on Homecoming night.

As if scripted by Hollywood, the Grizzlies rallied from a double-digit halftime deficit in front of an enormous Homecoming crowd of 4,034 people, which included university president Gary Russi sitting in the student section.

“I can’t say enough,” head coach Greg Kampe said. “The vision of Dr. Russi and my vision all came together tonight. This is what college basketball is about and we battled a long time to get this.”

The atmosphere of the O’Rena was electric, with fans waving towels and balloons, cheering on their beloved basketball team.

“The crowd was unbelievable; I think we won because of the crowd. My first game at Oakland 26 years ago there were 33 people in the stands and 17 of them were named Kampe. To go from that to this … it’s special,” Kampe said.

With 14 seconds left in the game, ORU freshman Warren Niles converted a layup to tie the game 77-77.

Jones immediately dribbled the ball up the court and into traffic before firing up an 8-foot fade away jumper that bounced up and in.

“Initially, I looked for Keith Benson, but his man wasn’t going to let him get the ball,” Jones said. “I saw that we had a driving lane, so I took the ball toward the middle … I had to get the shot down, so I took it.”

Following a timeout, the Golden Eagles were able to fire off a half court attempt, but Niles’ shot landed a couple feet short of the rim as time expired.

“Obviously, they are a good basketball team, but in the second half, we were better and we really went after it,” head coach Greg Kampe said. “I was very pleased with that and in the second half, we took what was ours and we went out and earned it. Players make plays — coaches have never won anything and I put the ball in the four-year starter’s hands knowing he would make the play, and he did.”

Oral Roberts opened the game on a 10-2 run, capitalizing on three Oakland turnovers in its first four possessions to take control of the game.

The Golden Eagles were able to push their lead to 14 points at the midway point of the first half.

At the break, Oral Roberts held a 46-33 lead, due largely to its 62 percent conversion rate from the floor. Niles began the game 7-of-7 from the field, putting up 16 points before the half was over.

“I think we came out in this environment expecting something to be given to us, not really understanding what we had to do,” Kampe said regarding his team’s performance in the first 20 minutes.

The Grizzlies came out of the locker room with a vengeance and went on a 22-1 run, which included five 3-pointers, to open the second half.

Sophomore guard Blake Cushingberry gave OU its first lead at 13:30 of the second frame with a 3-pointer.

It was Oakland’s defense, however, that keyed in the comeback.

“We had a little talk at halftime and when we came out, we played defense as well as it can be played,” Kampe said.

It took Oral Roberts until the 11:32 mark to convert its first second half field goal.

On two occasions during the comeback, the crowd was stirred to an absolute frenzy when sophomore guard Drew Maynard slammed down alley-oop passes from Jones. 

With 3:15 remaining in the game, OU held an 11 point lead following a pair of Jones’ free throws.

But the Golden Eagles would not go down quietly. A pair of 3-pointers by Niles in the final minute and a half pulled them within two points, 77-75 with 51 seconds remaining.

Along with his game-winning shot, Jones contributed 16 points and eight assists. He also broke a school record by playing in his 126th career game. 

Junior center Keith Benson recorded his 13th double-double of the season, tying his career high of 28 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. And much to the crowd’s delight, he also had four blocks bringing everyone to their feet.

“My teammates and the crowd were a big boost and I could feel the momentum and the extra adrenaline,” Benson said.

ORU head coach Scott Sutton also credited the sellout Homecoming crowd of with helping Oakland in its come-from-behind win.

“I thought the crowd really helped them tonight,” Sutton said. “I told my guys, you can’t play 12 or 13 awful minutes on the road and expect to win against a good team.”