This month can be cruel.
For the second season in a row, Oakland will end an impressive tournament run with an overtime loss, this one came in the conference semifinals to 1 seed Robert Morris.
Just like last season, Oakland had a chance to get the as regulation expired. Oakland ran the clock down to 4 seconds, before calling timeout to set up an out of bounds play. They ended up not getting a shot.
“I had a thought in my head, and it just didn’t work,” Greg Kampe said. “And I will have to live with that now.”
“I wanted to get to overtime. Allen was out, but was their best guy. I felt we had an davantage with Buru still and didn’t want us to run up the floor and throw up something too quick. We have a sideline out of bounds play that has won us many games before.”
Unfortunately for Oakland, it didn’t work out. And they followed that up with a 5-2 loss in the overtime period. Buru Naivalurua saw a game tying three go in and out at the final buzzer.
Oakland held a 53-40 lead with under 15 minutes to play, but Robert Morris came back to take a lead. That was before DQ Cole and Jayson Woodrich hit back to back threes to give Oakland a four point lead with just over a minute to go.
Kam Woods then made huge plays to close down regulation, including an and one with under 30 seconds to play, that tied the game and fouled out Allen Mukeba.
“They are having a hsitoric season, this is their 25th win. They aren’t going to just die in a game like this, just like we didn’t when we took the lead back.”
“This was more them taking it instead of us giving it away.”
Allen Mukeba led Oakland with 18 points before fouling out. Buru Naivalurua added 13, DQ Cole hit big shots en route to 11. Malcolm Christie also scored 12 off the bench.
The three graduating seniors all showed up late. Cole, Christie and Jayson Woodrich made big plays in the second half, in what will end up being their final game in an Oakland uniform.
As Oakland closes the year, attention will turn to what the roster will look like next season.
At the forefront, Allen Mukeba and Buru Naivalurua each have the ability to come back. Working on retaining that tandem will almost definitely be a top priority for Oakland. Isaiah Jones, Jaylen Jones, and Nassim Mashhour are other key contributors who would figure to have an impact next year, should they be on the next edition of the Golden Grizzlies.
There will be plenty of time for roster talk in the coming weeks though, and this group deserves to have a moment to reflect. A sweep of the Metro Series, a win over Loyola Chicago in the Diamond Head Classic, a Senior Day to remember and a run back to Indy highlight what turned out to be a season with some real good moments. A senior class that featured Cole, the maker of the biggest shot in program history, Woodrich, the all time Horizon League games played leader, and Christie, the spark to a few huge performances, will be missed.
Oakland closes the season with a record of 16-18.
