On Friday, Feb. 21, the Oakland Golden Grizzlies men’s basketball team lost to the Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons on the road with a final score of 80-66.
Despite the loss, Buru Naivalurua and Allen Mukeba proved to be nearly unstoppable in the matchup. Naivalurua matched his career-high of 23 points while snagging seven boards, while Mukeba almost matched him with 21 points and eight rebounds.
Rasheed Bello was instrumental for the Mastodons, notching 19 points while dishing out eight assists. Jalen Jackson, Corey Hadnot II and Chandler Cuthrell were also solid in the win, with all three players reaching double-digit scoring figures.
The first half started nearly perfect for Oakland, as a DQ Cole three and multiple buckets from Naivalurua kicked off a 9-0 run for the Golden Grizzlies.
Despite Oakland’s hot start, the Mastodons worked on cutting the Golden Grizzly lead throughout the first, with a pair of consecutive threes from Quinton Morton-Robertson bringing Purdue Fort Wayne within a single point halfway through the first.
The Golden Grizzlies held the line for a couple more minutes until Rasheed Bello knocked down a three with eight minutes to go, giving the Mastodons its first lead.
For the rest of the half, Purdue Fort Wayne didn’t back down, as a layup from Cuthrell ballooned the Mastodon lead to seven points nearly a minute after the team took the lead.
With Purdue Fort Wayne now in the driver’s seat, the Golden Grizzlies kept pace with them down the stretch of the first. By the end of the frame, Oakland trailed the Mastodons 42-35.
With room to make up in the second half, the Golden Grizzlies did just that. After crawling back through the first seven minutes of the second, a turnaround jumper from Naivalurua moved the needle back in Oakland’s favor, 51-50.
The Golden Grizzlies and the Mastodons stayed neck-and-neck for a stretch of play. Although the Mastodons quickly took back the lead, the game was still within reach for an Oakland team in desperate need of a win this late into the season.
However, with seven minutes left in the second, Purdue Fort Wayne started to pull away. Jalen Jackson converted at the rim before Corey Hadnot II knocked down a triple on the Mastodon’s next possession, extending the Purdue Fort Wayne to nine points.
Although Naivalurua and Mukeba tried to piece together a comeback down the stretch, Purdue Fort Wayne wasn’t slowing down on offense, resulting in Oakland’s eighth conference loss of the season.
Oakland’s inability to find consistency from beyond the arc stands out from the box score. The Golden Grizzlies converted just one three throughout the game despite taking 21 attempts from beyond the arc.
In comparison, the Purdue Fort Wayne offense lived off of its range from deep, as the Mastodons shot 44.7% from three on 38 attempts. In fact, with the volume of three-pointers the Mastodons were able to shoot, 51 of its 80 points came from three.
Up next, the Golden Grizzlies will host its final home game of the season against the Cleveland State Vikings on Sunday, Feb. 23, with a tip-off set for 3 p.m. With three games left to go in the season, Oakland will have to win out to earn a chance at a first-round bye in the Horizon League playoffs.