It felt like a game between two good teams desperate for a win.
Oakland jumped out to a 22-9 lead in the first ten minutes of the game. Things were flowing on offense, and defensively Oakland looked good. Unfortunately, a familiar story came for Oakland, as the Golden Grizzlies only managed one basket in the final 10:57 of the half. The lead was trimmed to five because of the drought.
The second half was a battle, with the score staying tight throughout. Wright State found their footing from the perimeter late and ended up taking a lead in the final seconds.
An Oakland turnover on an attempted inbounds lob pass was the final nail in the coffin, and Wright State came away with a 66-62 win, moving Oakland to 2-4 on the league season.
Once again, Oakland experienced shooting troubles. Oakland shot 5-22 from three (22.7%) and 11-18 from the free throw line (57.9%). Oakland shot 40% from the floor for the game.
The leaders of the scoring charge were once again the big guys down low. Buru Naivalurua put up 16 points and eight rebounds, but did shoot 6-12 to get there. He was Oakland’s most consistent offense through big stretches of the game. Late in the contest, Allen Mukeba was leaned on. He delivered the right play more times than not and ended up with a near double double. He scored 13 points and had nine rebounds. Mukeba also added two blocks.
Isaiah Jones also was in double figures with 10 points. He added five rebounds, four offensive. A big story for Jones in the future is how reliable can he be from the three-point line. Wright State was daring him to shoot, and he was 1-4. He is certainly capable of making wide open shots, and Oakland will take perimeter production from anywhere. Maybe Isaiah can help that effort.
DQ Cole had five points on only five shots. He has recently not been as big of a part of the Oakland picture, but the Golden Grizzlies need him to get his production going. His offensive skillset is something Oakland really needs at the moment.
Malcolm Christie and Jaylen Jones were not their best selves. Both scored a few points but struggled offensively for most of the night. Cooper Craggs provided a quick burst, but it wasn’t enough.
There is now some room between Oakland and the top part of the standings, making Saturday’s game at Northern Kentucky seem like a massive early showdown. Per Kenpom, Oakland has played the hardest conference schedule so far, so it will lighten up, but the gap can’t get too big. If it does, the margin for error gets smaller and smaller down the stretch.
NKU comes into the game at 4-2, with a pairing as good as any in the league in Trey Robinson and Sam Vinson. They were key members of the 2023 Norse that went to the NCAA Tournament, making this a matchup of the last two Horizon League representatives in the big dance.
Oakland’s attention now turns to Saturday at 6pm Eastern Time at Northern Kentucky. ESPN+ will have the television coverage.
