The Golden Grizzlies men’s basketball team has a singular goal this season — to win the Summit League tournament and take part in March Madness for just the second time in school history.

But on its way to the championship game, Oakland is racking up some impressive regular season feats. Saturday’s win over South Dakota State gave OU its 16th consecutive win over a Summit League opponent dating back to last season. The streak is tied with Cleveland State (1992-93) for the longest in conference history.

“I really think that (record) is important, and it’s a milestone worth playing for,” head coach Greg Kampe said.

A win over IUPUI this Thursday would give Oakland sole possession of this Summit League record, as well as a school-record 10th consecutive win overall. Last season, the team won nine straight games for the first time before falling to North Dakota State in the Summit League championship.

Oakland is now 9-0 in conference play. The Grizzlies have defeated each of the other nine conference opponents once this season and have a rematch against all of them before the season ends.

No Summit League team has ever gone undefeated in its conference schedule, but the players aren’t focusing on the possibility of a 16-0 conference record.

“We try not to look that far ahead and just take it one game at a time,” senior captain Johnathon Jones said.

The team knows that its opponents will bring their “A” games every night, trying to knock off the top-ranked Grizzlies the second time around.

“I think people will look at how we beat them the first time and they’ll try and counter that,” Kampe said. “We’re seeing everything on how teams are guarding Keith Benson.”

Some teams have double and triple-teamed the Grizzlies’ center, trying to neutralize him, while other teams have defended to take away Oakland’s perimeter shooting and allow Benson a little more space.

Thursday’s game at IUPUI is arguably the team’s toughest game left. OU won the first matchup 85-82 in a thriller at the O’Rena Jan. 2.

First place will be on the line this week, as the Jaguars are just a game back in the standings.

“In coach speak, it’s a bigger game for them than us; they have to defend their home court,” Kampe said.

The Grizzlies’ remaining schedule features four road games and five home games.

“In this conference, it’s so hard to win on the road that you can’t overlook any team out there,” Jones said. “When we went out to the Dakotas, we knew they were going to play us hard because we’re Oakland and we’ve got a bulls-eye on our back.”

With OU on such a roll, practice time is spent refining its approach to playing each team a second time.

“That’s what we’re trying to do now is find little things that we can go to when we get in trouble,” Kampe said.

Recaps from this week’s games:

Jan. 21 — The Golden Grizzlies began a four-game road trip Thursday with a 85-79 win over North Dakota State, giving head coach Greg Kampe his 100th career victory in Summit League play.

Oakland held a 15-point lead with under 10 minutes left in the second half, but the Bison cut their deficit down to just two points with 1:29 to play, making for an exciting finish. With North Dakota State forced to foul, the Grizzlies went 8-of-8 from the free-throw line in the final minute to put the game away for good.

Junior center Keith Benson recorded his conference-leading eleventh double-double of the season, with 22 points and 12 rebounds, as well as four blocks.

Coming off the bench, freshman guard Ledrick Eackles scored 18 points, marking the fifth time in six games he’s scored in double figures.

Junior Larry Wright put up 13 points on 5-of-10 shooting, which included three 3-pointers. The Grizzlies as a team shot 40 percent from behind the arc and just shy of 50 percent overall.

Johnathon Jones also contributed 16 points and eight assists in the victory.

Jan. 23 — In a game the Grizzlies trailed by as many as 13 points at one point, Oakland rallied back to defeat South Dakota State 85-82 Saturday evening to remain perfect in league play.

OU steadily worked its way back into the contest toward the end of the first half, going into the break down by five points. The final ten minutes of the game saw six ties and three lead changes before the Grizzlies took the lead for good with just over two minutes to play.

The team shot terribly from the free throw line in the first half (8-of-19), but improved that percentage in the second half enough to put the game away.

With the win, Oakland improved to 9-0 against Summit League opponents and is riding a nine-game winning streak overall, pushing their record to 15-7.

Benson scored a game-high 23 points and had 11 rebounds for the Grizzlies. Three other Grizzlies — Jones, Eackles, and Derick Nelson – scored in double figures for OU.

Jones’ Summit League record of 43 consecutive free throws made came to an end in the second half.

Oakland’s remaining schedule:

1/28 at IUPUI

1/30 at Western Illinois

2/4 vs. Centenary College 7 p.m.

2/6 vs. Oral Roberts 6 p.m. (homecoming game)

2/11 at Southern Utah

2/13 at UMKC

2/18 vs. South Dakota State 7 p.m.

2/20 vs. North Dakota State 6 p.m.

2/27 vs. IPFW 6 p.m.

3/6 – 3/9 Summit League Tournament