The Golden Grizzlies men’s basketball team defeated the IUPUI Jaguars in thrilling fashion, 85-82, Saturday night at the O’Rena in a matchup of the last two undefeated teams in Summit League play.

Trailing by nine points with just 1:45 to play in the game, the Jaguars fought back and cut their deficit to just two points with under a minute to play. But Oakland was able to hold on for the victory thanks to a couple of key defensive stops and three of four converted free throws by Derick Nelson in the closing seconds.

“Hell of a basketball game,” head coach Greg Kampe said. “I’m sure it was great for the fans, not so much for the coaches. I am very pleased; the game was high scoring but I liked our defense … Down the stretch, we guarded really well and every key possession we had a stop.”

Behind the strength of Nelson’s season-high 24 points, which included back-to-back 3-pointers to open the game, the Grizzlies never trailed following the opening possession.

At a key stretch of the first half, IUPUI tied the game with 6:15 to play, but failed to capitalize on a series of missed shots and turnovers by the Grizzlies and never took the lead.

Oakland regained control of the game as freshman Ledrick Eackles provided a spark off the bench late in the half when he stole the ball twice at midcourt and converted easy layups. Overall, he scored a career-high 13 points to go with four assists and three steals.

“I just come in and bring that extra energy off the bench. I fit in where I can, it doesn’t matter,” Eackles said.

OU held a 44-40 advantage at halftime, with star forward Robert Glenn providing much of the scoring for IUPUI despite a tough matchup against Grizzlies center Keith Benson.

“We watched film early on during practice before the game and watched how (Benson) guarded,” Glenn said. “Before the game I worked on my 15-footer and knew I was going to have to hit (that type of shot).”

In the second half, Oakland extended its lead to as many as 13 points with just over 10 minutes to play. 

Benson converted an important

3-point play with a layup and subsequent free throw with just under two minutes remaining before the resilient Jaguars stormed back again with a couple of

successful 3-pointers.

It was IUPUI’s use of a full-court press defense in the second half that gave the Grizzlies so much difficulty, leading to several turnovers and miscues.

With 59 seconds remaining, the game was halted for nearly five minutes when referees were forced to utilize instant replay to determine possession after Oakland guard Larry Wright was pressured on his own side of center. After a lengthy conference between the three officials, they ruled it was a backcourt violation and IUPUI was awarded the ball in a two-point game.

“Instead of arguing (the decision) with a minute to go in the game, (I figured) we had better guard. So I wasn’t going to argue it. I needed to talk to my team. And they calmed down and understood that it doesn’t matter; if we get a (defensive) stop, then we win,” Kampe said.

On the ensuing possession, Oakland got just what Kampe was hoping for as the Jaguars Billy Pettiford was forced to throw up a long-range shot which missed the target. Eackles grabbed the rebound and Oakland padded their lead with free throws down the stretch.

The game ended on an unsuccessful desperation shot by John Ashworth that would have tied the game at the buzzer.

“We knew it was a 40 minute game and we had to play all 40 minutes, so no, I’m not surprised by what they did, or what we did,” Kampe said. “I’m very pleased with the way we played. We played a very steady game.”

In addition to the offensive production by Nelson and Eackles, Benson contributed 23 points and had 13 rebounds — his conference-leading ninth double-double of the season. Senior Johnathon Jones tied his season-high in assists with 11 to go along with 12 points of his own.

Oakland shot 51 percent on the night, up significantly from their previous game when they struggled from the field at just 39 percent shooting.

All five Jaguars starters finished in double figures, with Glenn putting up 21 points to lead his team.

Kampe said he was happy to come away with the victory in such an important in-conference game, though his focus is still on preparing for the more meaningful games later in the season.

“You don’t win championships in January. You play, you get better and you win in February and March. We’re still (concerned most) about that tournament. Sure we want to win the regular season championship, and tonight helped us,” he said.

Nelson echoed the sentiments of his coach, and said that the players have their sights set on winning the conference.

“(IUPUI) played a good game and we have a lot of respect for them,” Nelson said. “This was a big game … It was a stepping stone on the way to the championship.”

Jaguars coach Ron Hunter recognized this game as a sign of things to come in the two teams’ rivalry.

“This was a heavyweight game. These were two of the better teams in the league. And as I told my players, we will see (Oakland) again a couple of times. This is just the first of this battle,” he said.

Oakland (9-7, 3-0) will take its game on the road for a pair of away games this week against Oral Roberts (Thursday) and Centenary College (Saturday).

Game Notes:

• Through all of the tension that filled the O’Rena as the officials determined the outcome of a contested Oakland timeout and backcourt violation call with under a minute to play, the two head coaches were able to share a laugh to lighten the mood, if only for a moment.

With the referees huddled at center court, IUPUI coach Ron Hunter wandered down to the OU bench to chat with Kampe before being unceremoniously ushered away by game officials. Hunter proceeded to pick up a statistician’s cell phone off the scorer’s table and jokingly signal to Kampe that he was going to call him from across the court so they could finish their conversation. To the amusement of the crowd, Kampe searched his pockets for his own phone, wearing a grin on his face.

“I wish that cell phone had worked; I had some choice words for Kampe,” Hunter said jokingly after the game.

– Oakland holds a 19-13 advantage in the all-time series against IUPUI.

– The Grizzlies are now on a three-game winning streak, their longest of the season.

– OU is now alone in first place in the Summit League standings as the only team with an unblemished conference record (3-0).

– Point guard Johnathon Jones played all 40 minutes for the third time this season.