The two games this past week were certainly different types of contests. A hard fought road win began the week, while a blowout victory put a cap on it. But one thing was similar between the two.
This Oakland team knows how to win.
It began on Wednesday in Fort Wayne. Oakland had watched a double digit lead dwindle all the way down until it was themselves who were trailing by four.
But both times the deficit was stretched to two possessions, there was no panic. Instead what ensued was timely shooting, and big defensive stops when it was needed most.
First it was Blake Lampman, who hit a big three to stop a huge Fort Wayne run, even on a night where he struggled scoring the ball. This shot fittingly gave him 1000 career points as a Golden Grizzly, only the 20th Oakland player to do so in the D1 era.
Then it was Dq Cole, who was seemingly the most important player on the floor all night. When Cole got in foul trouble the Dons made their run, and when Cole reentered, he made one of his 4 threes on the night to stop the bleeding.
That was enough contribution from those two on this night, as Jack Gohlke did the rest from beyond the arc. His 6 threes helped give him 23 points off the bench.
This threesome of shooters is what Greg Kampe has been missing the last couple years, and it’s been noticed late in the season. It seems as though they are all clicking at the right moment, and combined with the efforts of Trey Townsend and Chris Conway down low, there looks to be a chance that this is the right combination to do something special down the stretch.
Conway and Townsend each scored in double digits on Wednesday, while Cole poured in 14. Rocket Watts also chipped in 4 points, which gave him 1000 for his career.
All of that added up to a hard fought 71-63 road win, against a team that embarrassed Oakland on its own home floor in December.
Saturday saw anything but a hard fought contest. Oakland got up big early, and even bigger late. They cruised to a 107-59 win over IUPUI.
With Blake Lampman tending to his injuries, there were plenty of opportunities for others. Jack Gohlke put on a show, shooting 10-15 from three en route to 31 points in only 24 minutes. He came one shy of Travis Bader’s school record of 11 threes in a game.
Osei Price got the start for Lampman and took advantage. Price poured in 14 points and grabbed 5 rebounds. It’s yet another example of different guys stepping up for Oakland this year.
Rocket Watts shot 6-8 from the floor for 15 points, while Isaiah Jones had 6 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals. He led the team in those last three categories.
Townsend and Conway were steady, while Buru Naivalurua showed some nice flashes of offense as well. It was a total team effort from Oakland, and they moved to 13-4 in the league a half game ahead of Green Bay for first place.
The events Saturday clinched a top four seed for the Golden Grizzlies, which means a first round bye and a quarter final home game. Now that that goal is accomplished, the focus shifts to earning a regular season league championship.
It begins Thursday at Robert Morris. A win for Oakland would clinch at least the two seed in the Horizon League Tournament.
Oakland handled business against the Colonials at home, winning 87-72, but RMU is a different team at home. They have won 4 of 6 at home with one of the losses coming in overtime against Green Bay. Oakland will need to play well to come out on top.
Michigan native Markeese Hastings will be the player to stop. He’s averaging 15 points and 8 rebounds on the year. He should be an all league player.
Robert Morris can rebound, and they have shooters, two things that can hurt Oakland. Those two factors will most likely decide this contest.
Tip off is at 7pm on Thursday. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+.
