In quite possibly the longest, most frustrating game to watch this season, the Golden Grizzlies men’s basketball team fell on the road at the Milwaukee Panthers 71-66 on Thursday.
It was not a pretty game by any means. Both teams combined for 27 fouls and 30 turnovers, making the game’s pace incredibly choppy and slow. Neither team could string together many plays to get any separation in the game.
The game got off on the wrong foot, with Milwaukee hitting back-to-back threes to begin the contest. Jayson Woodrich of OU continued his streak of strong play by hitting an early three to go along with an Isaiah Jones layup. An early concern was big man Allen Mukeba’s two turnovers. Oakland found themselves down 5-10 as both teams settled into the game.
After the Panthers extended their lead to 14-7, the Golden Grizzlies shooters began to get hot. Malcolm Christie and freshman Nassim Mashhour cashed in on two three-point attempts. Oakland would then capitalize on a Milwaukee turnover with a run-out layup by DQ Cole to take their first lead of the game, 15-14.
Cole would again find his way to the rim before the Panthers would reclaim the lead with two layups of their own. At the under-12-minute timeout, the Golden Grizzlies were again down 17-18 but still in the game.
This back-and-forth play continued as Milwaukee dialed up the pressure on Oakland. For most of the game, the Panthers threw different full-court looks at the Golden Grizzlies, alternating between a 1-2-2 press and a man-to-man trapping defense. OU struggled to handle Milwaukee’s pressure, frequently turning the ball over and having difficulty getting into their set plays with less time on the shot clock. This pressure isn’t any new trend; in recent games, most of Oakland’s opponents have attacked the ball because of OU’s lack of a true point guard.
That said, the Golden Grizzlies recaptured a one-point lead with 6:35 left to play in the first half. With another three from Mashhour and a layup from Cooper Craggs and Jones, OU hung on to a 26-25 lead.
It didn’t take long for Oakland to finally put together a decent run and open up the game a bit. After another Christie three-pointer, the team went to Mukeba down low for two free throws and a bucket, expanding the lead to eight points.
Credit is due to the Panthers for dialing up their pressure in the final six minutes before halftime. They forced eight turnovers from the Golden Grizzlies and got to the free-throw line to claw back into the game. With all the turnovers, Milwaukee generated easy looks at the rim in transition. The Panthers would close the half on a 17-1 run, giving themselves an eight-point lead going into halftime.
Fouls began rearing their ugly heads, as well. Multiple Golden Grizzlies players struggled with fouls in the first half, and Milwaukee got plenty of free-throw opportunities from the bonus. The beginning of the second half didn’t do anything to relieve the turnover and foul troubles from Oakland, either. Right out of the gate, Cole turned the ball over again, leading to an easy layup for Milwaukee. A possession later, Cole would foul on a layup, leading to two more free throws.
The sequence that best summed up the game was a 12-second stretch that saw Mashhour pick up his fourth foul of the game, turn the ball over on the next possession, and then commit his fifth foul to be ejected from the game. The freshman played only nine minutes in the contest. As possibly the team’s best ball handler, his removal from the game greatly hindered OU’s ability to handle pressure.
Milwaukee ballooned their lead to 16 points before Jones finally stopped their run with an Oakland dunk. His basket would kickstart a quick 9-0 run from the Golden Grizzlies, thanks to a pair of threes from Woodrich and a free throw to cut the lead to seven.
After the under-16-minute timeout, John Lovelace Jr. of Milwaukee would bring the lead back up to nine with two free throws before Woodrich hit yet another three. An almost three-minute scoring drought ensued, being finally snapped by Milwaukee’s Erik Pratt hitting a three of his own. Every time Oakland got on the scoreboard, the Panthers had an answer; the lead stayed around 10 or so points before OU could finally make a run.
With just under nine minutes left to play in the game, Cole sunk a three-pointer to reduce the lead to 62-54. After a Woodrich free throw and a Buru Naivalurua jumper, Oakland dwindled the lead to just five points with 7:32 left to play.
The Panthers responded with four quick points to give them a nine-point cushion. However, the Golden Grizzlies had one more run left in them. After a Mukeba layup, Jones hit a layup and a free throw to bring OU back into the game. On a fast break, Cole found Naivalurua for a dunk, making it just a two-point game with 4:18 left.
With a chance to win the game down three points with eight seconds left to play, Oakland head coach Greg Kampe called a timeout to draw up a play. Oakland didn’t get the exact shot they wanted for Woodrich, but Woodrich hit Cole for an open three that fell short, leaving just a second left on the clock. After Oakland accidentally fouled on the Panthers inbounds play, Themus Fulks of Milwaukee sank two free throws to ice the game 71-66.
Woodrich led Oakland in scoring with 14 points while the Golden Grizzlies star big men struggled. Four players had three or more turnovers, with Cole leading with six. The two biggest stats from the game, in my opinion, were 16 offensive rebounds for Milwaukee, as well as 24-33 shooting from the free-throw line for the Panthers.
Oakland must clean up these areas if they hope to make a run to the Horizon League title.