Rochester, Mich. – Oakland started their season off with a good test against Walsh.
The Golden Grizzlies were in for a battle right from the tip-off.The first half was neck-and-neck for the entire 20 minutes.
Junior Trey Townsend took no time to get started, scoring eight of Oakland’s first ten points.
With scoring becoming a back and forth affair, Oakland took time to come back from an early deficit. Oakland clawed their way back as Jack Gohlke hit a huge three-pointer, his first of the season, to tie the game at 22 with 6:52 left in the first half.
Junior guard Tone Hunter gave Oakland some momentum late in the half, knocking down a free-throw followed by a quick steal leading to a transition layup to cut Walsh’s lead to just three (28-31) with just over 1:30 left in the first half
Walsh’s sophomore guard Kobe Mitchell hit two late threes in the half, snatching the momentum back for Walsh. Mitchell was a problem for Oakland in the first half, scoring 17 points (4-9 3FG) in the first 20 minutes alone.
Townsend made sure Oakland stayed in the game, tallying 15 points (5-9 FG) of his own in the opening half.
Walsh came out of the half hot, going on an 11-2 run capped off by triple from redshirt junior Milan Square with 17:31 left in the game, giving Walsh the largest lead of the game 45-32.
The Golden Grizzlies bounced back behind the aggressiveness of savvy guard Hunter. He put pressure on the defense with quick drives to the hoop. Back-to-back layups from Hunter, followed by another Gohlke triple, and a jumper from forward Cooper Craggs gave Oakland a 9-0 run, cutting the Walsh lead to eight (43-51).
With 9:54 left in the game, Oakland continued to stay within striking distance. Junior guard DQ Cole knocked down a big triple off a Craggs assist to shave the Walsh lead to just five (49-54).
Cole was everywhere in this game, hustling hard and grabbing 5 rebounds to go along with his 8 points and 3 steals.
Cole would hit another big triple, his second of the night, to bring Oakland to within three (63-66) with 1:57 left in the game.
Walsh’s shooting proved to be too much for Oakland, as the Golden Grizzlies’ comeback fell just short.
The Cavaliers went 12-30 from deep (.400 3FG%) compared to Oakland going 8-29 (.276 3FG%) from beyond the arc.
Square and Mitchell combined for 11 3FG for Walsh, lifting them to a 75-69 victory.
Townsend led the way for Oakland, finishing with 22 points and nine rebounds. Gohlke finished with 15 points, all from deep, while Hunter (9) and Watts (7) chipped in with solid scoring efforts.
Oakland looks to bounce back as they host their second exhibition game on Oct. 30 in an in-state battle against Wayne State.
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