On Saturday, Feb. 3, the Oakland men’s basketball team defeated the Cleveland State University (CSU) Vikings with a final score of 83-71 at the OU Credit Union O’rena.
However, the men’s 10th conference win of the season wasn’t won alone, as members of Oakland’s swim and dive team, who showed up shirtless in speedos with body paint, distracted the Vikings by shaving their heads every time CSU made it to the free throw line.
“I bet Cleveland State has never seen anything like that,” Trey Townsend said. “They were probably rattled. They [Cleveland State] were tripping in the layup lines every time they missed… That was definitely a huge factor.”
The shaving distraction paid dividends for the Grizzlies. Notably, CSU only went 8-13 from the charity stripe the entire game. Meanwhile, OU made it to the line 26 times and did not miss a single free throw.
“Everyone kind of loves each other here. It’s a cool thing to see,” Blake Lampman said. “To see them come out, and they were shaving their heads in the stands, what are we doing, boys? That was awesome.”
Besides the shaving and the speedos, Lampman was a critical factor in the Grizzlies’ win. Lampman tied his career-high in points, scoring 26 in total, with 12 coming from deep. In addition to the scoring outburst, Lampman tallied five rebounds and three assists.
Along with Lampman, Townsend also had a big afternoon for the Grizzlies. Townsend shot 66.7 percent from the field, scored 18 points and grabbed nine rebounds. Additionally, Townsend was a presence on defense, finishing the game with two blocks and a steal.
The Vikings started the game hot, converting on all three levels of the court their first four possessions. OU was able to keep up the pace with CSU on their offensive possessions but fell behind early in the first half, 9-4.
Despite the early deficit, the Grizzlies battled back and eventually took their first lead midway through the first half. Minutes later, a 9-0 Grizzly run propelled OU ahead of the Vikings, 27-18.
CSU was able to cut their deficit to a single point with less than five minutes remaining in the first. However, an electrifying Chris Conway alley-oop was the highlight of a 14-4 OU run to close out the first half. Heading into halftime, the Grizzlies led the Vikings 44-32.
At the start of the second half, OU continued to succeed on both sides of the court, expanding their double-digit lead to 59-40 by outscoring CSU 15-8 in the first six minutes of the second.
Although the Vikings were down big, the team slowly started to bring themselves back into the game halfway through the second half. CSU came within 10 points of the Grizzlies with 5:17 remaining in the half.
Despite the late resurgence of the Vikings, the Grizzlies remained composed and ultimately won the game. Notably, this game is the last OU will see of the Vikings in the regular season. With the win, the Grizzlies tied their series with the Vikings this season 1-1.
“The team has grown, and we’re really starting to become a good offensive team,” head coach Greg Kampe said. “If that continues, the sky’s the limit for this team because we can win any way you want to play, and that is a really good feeling as a coach.”
Up next, the Grizzlies will play the Northern Kentucky Norse on Thursday, Feb. 8. The game against the Norse marks the first of a three-game road stint for the Grizzlies.