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Play-by-Play: Joey Hayes
Color: Noah Stalker
Studio: Harjun Buttar
The Oakland Golden Grizzlies men’s basketball team falls to the visiting Purdue-Fort Wayne Mastodons at the O’rena. The final score was 98-77.
Oakland came into this game off a four-game win streak, the last two wins on Monday night against Xavier and on Wednesday night against Detroit Mercy. The overall look was a squad battle-tested against basketball giants like Ohio State and Illinois.
The visiting Mastodons came into this game off back-to-back wins against Wittenberg on November 25, and Horizon League foe Green Bay on November 29. A squad that had a seemingly simple out-of-conference schedule rolled through it with ease and boasted a 7-1 record before making the trip down to Rochester. After the sub-.500 Horizon League record last year and after losing Jarred Godfrey, Damian Chong Qui, and Bobby Planutis, no one really thought the Mastodons a serious contender for the Horizon League, but coach Jon Coffman’s team has shown otherwise.
The first half exposed a lot of the issues in Coach Kampe’s patented zone defense, which had been one of the best in the conference, and one of the top in the entire Midwest coming into this contest. The Mastodons lead 14-4 going into the first media timeout, and were coming otu of the gate matching the Grizzlies’ energy. Oakland found their footing on offense, and started to gain momentum in the paint through Chris Conway and Trey Townsend; however, every Oakland basket was met by a 3-pointer from the Mastodons. Oakland forced the Mastodons to give up possession and resort to the fouls, and scored points in chunks from the free throw line. The Grizzlies trailed 46-39 at half.
The Mastodons came charging from the gate to start the second half. They stifled Oakland’s hapless offense and were automatic from beyond the arc, no matter how tightly they were guarded. What was a 12-point deficit at the 14-minute mark slowly grew to a 32-point deficit at 8:41. The Grizzlies could not overcome the Mastodons’ success from beyond the arc, and ultimately fell in the end. They did not hold a lead all game.
Oakland falls to 5-4 on the year and 1-1 in conference play. They will look to fight the visiting Toledo Rockets at the O’rena on Wednesday, December 6th. Meanwhile, the surging Mastodons will take on Southern Indiana in Evansville on Wednesday, December 6th.
WXOU’s next broadcast will be Sunday, December 3rd in historic Calihan Hall, as the Oakland women prepare to begin the Metro Series against Kate Achter and the Detroit Mercy Titans. Coverage will begin at 1pm. Tune into 88.3 FM WXOU!