It was an electrifying game day for the Golden Grizzlies as Jack Gohlke soared to tie his career high with another 31-point showing, propelling Oakland to a 107-59 blowout victory over the IUPUI Jaguars.
Gohlke knocked down 10 triples (10-of-15), including five 3-pointers from deep in the second half that kept the energy in the OU Credit Union O’rena at a high.
The game began very competitive but quickly turned one-sided as Oakland asserted its superiority, and the story was Oakland’s continued dominance in the second half. They came out of intermission and went on an 11-0 run, with contributions from DQ Cole and Isaiah Jones, as they extended their lead to 68-28.
The depth of Oakalnd’s roster was on full display, as multiple players contributed to the all-around scoring. IUPUI could not get anything going offensively, and the Golden Grizzlies continued to do it all.
The Jaguars’ DJ Jackson had 17 points, but it wasn’t enough offensive power and was a game that was too far out of reach for the Jaguars to overcome. Oakland sealed the deal with a final score of 107-59, shot 76 percent overall in the second half and outscored IUPUI 42-22 in the paint.
In a display of complete dominance, the men’s basketball team delivered a masterclass performance at the OU Credit Union O’rena. Gohlke led all scorers for the Grizzlies, Rocket Watts had 15 points and closely followed was Osei Price with 14 points. Trey Townsend also had 12 points in Oakland’s commanding victory, and this surely was another successful win in the books.
The men’s basketball team is still first in the Horizon League and will continue to stay focused and grounded with their eyes on the ultimate prize, poised to overcome any obstacle that stands in their way of getting to the NCAA Tournament.
“We want to be regular season champions, and we want rings and all of that that we can focus on because we’ve accomplished our first objective, not a goal, just an objective,” head coach Greg Kampe said. “Now we can focus on, if we win the last three games, we win the championship, and it’s not our first time — we’ve won before, but we haven’t gotten to the NCAA Tournament in a while, and that’s the goal — and so we’re doing everything to try and get to the NCAA Tournament. We’ve accomplished our first mission, now we want to accomplish the second one.”
This is an Oakland team that has such a talented roster, and they are capable of making a major statement in the Horizon League and even beyond.
What’s Next?
As coach Kampe said, if Oakland wins its final three regular-season games, it will be the Horizon League champions and it will earn the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament, which is scheduled to start on Tuesday, March 5.
The Golden Grizzlies will relish their performance and get back to it on Thursday, Feb. 22, to face the Colonials of Robert Morris at the UPMC Events Center. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. With three games left of the regular season before the Horizon League Championships, Oakland is determined to maintain its winning ways.