Oakland came out on top over the Robert Morris Colonials 87-72 in their first matchup of the season, behind Blake Lampman’s 26 points. The fifth-year senior tied his career high, with 20 of those points coming in the first half.
First Half
The Golden Grizzlies came out of the gate with an onslaught of 3-pointers led by Blake Lampman, who scored Oakland’s first 12 points all off of triples. Despite the early barrage, the Colonials held their own and were down 12-7 at the first media timeout.
Rocket Watts chipped in two jumpers of his own and a free throw to go along with a Lampman layup to take a 19-14 lead. Balanced Robert Morris scoring and a tenacity on the glass kept them in the game, as guard Justice Williams had five points of his own. Oakland’s Buru Naivalurua put in early work on the boards, snatching four in the first nine minutes of the game.
The Grizzlies broke the game open with an 18-9 run to go up 37-23 at the four-minute mark. Jack Gohlke was fouled on a 3-pointer and made all three free throws, followed by two more 3s from Blake Lampman. Oakland guard D.Q. Cole added five of his own points, much to the liking of Pontiac Middle School’s basketball team in attendance to cheer on alum DQ. Robert Morris was kept alive by Markeese Hastings scoring seven of his team’s nine points in the six-minute span.
Despite the strong run, the Colonials clawed their way back into the game with two layups by Stephaun Walker and a triple by Justice Williams to bring the game back within 10 points, only down 40-30.
Second Half
Robert Morris came out of halftime with a vengeance, drawing up a back-door alley-oop to Markeese Hastings that he hammered home. However, it was Gohlke’s turn to catch fire, as he hit two three’s to force Colonials head coach Andrew Toole to call an early timeout. Oakland was committed to playing inside out more in the second half. Chris Conway and Trey Townsend each had a layup of their own to take the lead back to 13.
The Grizzlies were able to extend their lead all the way to 20 behind another Gohlke 3-point foul and layups from Townsend and Cole. Robert Morris was able to hang around and responded with a 12-0 run of its own. Guard Jackson Last nailed a 3-pointer and knocked down three free throws as Oakland went on a near four-minute scoring drought.
It was Rocket Watts that was able to end the drought with a step-back triple to reassert the Grizzlies, going up 62-51. Robert Morris big man Hastings wouldn’t go quietly, hitting two jumpers of his own to bring the game back to a seven-point deficit at 64-57 with eight minutes to go.
Out of the media timeout, it was winning time. Gohlke and Lampman combined for three more 3s to regain an 11-point lead. Oakland was able to close the game out with stout defense and strong free throw shooting, along with another pair of 3s from Cole and Golhke. The final score stood at 87-72.
Takeaways
Oakland looked dominant in their win over Robert Morris as they head into a key rematch against Cleveland State Saturday at 1 p.m. The Grizzlies look to avenge an early-season loss to the Vikings.
Lampman made a career-best eight 3-pointers to help Oakland, as a team, make 15 3-pointers for the second consecutive game.