The Golden Grizzlies came up short to the Green Bay Phoenix at the Resch Center in Wisconsin on Thursday, Jan. 25.
The matchup between the Grizzlies and Green Bay started off at a slow pace. Trey Townsend broke the ice and scored Oakland’s first points at the 18:40 mark of the first half. Green Bay’s Clarence Cummings responded and got them going, which eventually set the tone for a competitive game.
The Grizzlies, though, held their ground in a zone defense, and Green Bay always tried to counter it by moving the ball at a very quick pace. Chris Conway was a great strength inside, and a lot of Oakland’s offense came from him. A triple by Green Bay leveled everything up at 15 points apiece.
The first half consisted of a lot of back-and-forth action, with both teams locked in for a battle for first place in the Horizon League. Green Bay guard Foster Wonders already had 13 of their 20 points, but DQ Cole quickly put the Grizzlies back on top.
The pace remained hectic with minimal whistle blows, and both teams stayed at a score of 25 for an extended period of time. With under a minute left remaining in the first half, Osei Price stepped up and broke the scoring drought with a three.
Despite Oakland’s defensive efforts, a slip-up in executing a play prevented them from scoring on the final possession, and a foul called on Oakland allowed Green Bay another opportunity to reset, but they failed to convert, and that gave Oakland the one-point advantage going into halftime, 28-27.
Second Half
Green Bay opened up the second half with the first scoring, but a back-and-forth game continued. A top-of-the-key shot delivered by Green Bay’s Rich Byhre gave them a one-point lead, 39-38, with 11:41 remaining.
The game saw its eighth tie as Blake Lampman hit a crucial triple, but then Green Bay hit a triple of their own.
A Rocket Watts and-one jumper, along with a successful free throw, temporarily tied the game at 50.
Green Bay took control of the game and went on a 11-0 run, giving them their largest lead at 61-50. Blake Lampman’s sharpshooting was on full display, nailing clutch threes that brought Oakland back into the game, cutting the deficit to 64-59, but Green Bay continued to find open looks and eventually came out with the win over the Golden Grizzlies.
Lampman led all of Oakalnd’s scorers with 15 points. Following that, Conway had 14 points and Townsend had nine.
What’s Next?
The Golden Grizzlies are now second in the Horizon League. After a two-game stretch in Wisconsin, they will be back home at the Credit Union O’rena to host Robert Morris on Thursday, February 1 at 7 p.m. Next, they will prepare to play Cleveland State for their second meeting of the season on Saturday, Feb. 3 at 1 p.m.
With nine games to go in the regular season, Oakland will continue to claw and fight for positioning in the conference standings. The top five teams in the conference standings at the end of the season will earn a bye in the league tournament.