The Golden Grizzlies men’s basketball team won by the largest margin in school history against a Division I opponent Saturday, defeating the Southern Utah Thunderbirds 99-53 at the O’Rena.

The outcome was sealed very early on as the Grizzlies jumped out to a 13-0 start and went into halftime with a 29-point lead.

“I was really pleased, obviously, to win a conference game by that wide of a margin, as it doesn’t happen very often,” head coach Greg Kampe said. “We have struggled with Southern Utah in the past and I think our kids understood that and they came to play.”

All 12 of OU’s players figured into the scoring, with junior guard Larry Wright leading the way. Wright had 18 points, including four 3-pointers, and was a big part of Oakland’s tenacious defensive effort on the night.

“I think (Wright) did a great job of setting the tone defensively at the beginning of the game. They could not get into their offense because of the pressure he applied on the ball at the top,” Kampe said.

Oakland is now 8-1 on the season when Wright scores in double figures.

The Grizzlies pressured the Thunderbirds into 26 turnovers, 13 of which came off of steals.

Center Keith Benson became the 28th player in school history to surpass 1,000 career points when he converted a free throw attempt in the opening minutes. He finished with 12 points and seven rebounds.

“I think it is a great group of players in OU’s history that have (reached 1,000 points) and I’m just happy to be up there,” Benson said. “I want to thank my teammates for getting me the ball and sharing the ball to help me get my points.”

Senior Derick Nelson scored 13 points and drew the praise of his coach for his defensive work against Southern Utah’s leading scorer, limiting him to just 10 points.

“I think we would be remiss if we didn’t talk about Nelson’s (defense),” Kampe said. “Game after game he has taken very good players in this league and shut them down. He did a very good job on Davis Baker tonight.”

The highlight of the evening came midway through the second half when sophomore Drew Maynard buried an alley-oop pass from Johnathon Jones on a fast break, bringing the crowd of 3,125 to its feet on the dunk.

The play was just one of nine baskets assisted by Jones, who also chipped in 10 points. He went 4-for-4 from the foul line, setting a new school record with 38 consecutive free throws made.

OU shot over 52 percent from the field, which included 10 3-pointers.

Oakland (13-7) is riding a seven-game winning streak into a season-long four-game road trip that will begin Thursday against North Dakota State, the team that eliminated the Grizzlies in the conference championship last season.