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Play-by-play: Gavin Smilowski
Color: Harjun Buttar
Studio: Giovanni Moceri
Photographer: Andrew Deacon
The Oakland Golden Grizzlies put on a masterpiece performance at the OU Credit Union O’rena against the sputtering IUPUI Jaguars to extend their win streak to three. The final score was 107-59.
Oakland came into this game following a 71-63 win over the Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons. The Grizzlies took care of business and got the December 2nd monkey off their back after their home tilt resulted in the Mastodons shooting the lights out of the O’rena. This game against the IUPUI Jaguars was critical for the Grizzlies, as they would lock up a top-4 seeding in the Horizon League Tournament.
The IUPUI Jaguars came into this game bearing the scarlet letter accompanying giving the Detroit Mercy Titans their first win of the year. The Jaguars allowed the Titans to shoot 51% from the field and put up 81 points. They were looking to be spoilers against the Grizzlies and were desperate to improve their seeding with an upset win over Oakland.
The first half started shaky on offense for the Grizzlies, and IUPUI dropped 2 long-range threes to open up the contest. Oakland slowly but surely found their footing. Osei Price, getting his first start on the season with the injuries to Blake Lampman and Tone Hunter, started to shoot threes; although they didn’t go in, he set the tone for the rest of the game. Oakland battled back, and off the backs of Chris Conway and Mr. Oakland Trey Townsend, got the paint game going and forced the Jaguars defense to collapse in the paint and foul. Oakland got contributions from everywhere, and took a 51-24 lead going into the half.
There really wasn’t much to say about the second half. Oakland controlled the tempo and every phase of the game, and allowed their offense and defense to flow. Every basket by IUPUI was answered by a mixture of threes from Jack Gohlke and tough layups by Trey Townsend. Oakland continued to bury IUPUI’s paint game, and forced the Jaguars to take bad shots. Ultimately, Oakland prevailed in a big way, and ended the game 107-59.
This was a notable game for Jack Gohlke, who scored 10 of his 15 shots from the field, all of which came from the three, and scored a season-high 31 points. He led the charge in the absence of Blake Lampman and sparked the entire Golden Grizzly offense.
IUPUI, desperate for a win, will look to spoil the Northern Kentucky Norse’s push for a Top-4 spot at the Truist Center on Sunday, February 25th. Meanwhile, the Grizzlies prepare to play their final road game in the Moon Township tie against the Robert Morris Colonials on Thursday, February 22nd.
WXOU’s next broadcast will be on Sunday, February 25th, when the Oakland Men’s Basketball team prepares to take on the Wright State Raiders at the OU Credit Union O’rena. Justin Sheppeard will be play-by-play and Noah Stalker will be color. Tune in for live coverage!
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