Oakland Stays Attached at No.1 Purdue Before Falling 87-77

Entering Friday night, the expectations surrounding how Oakland would fare taking on the top ranked team in the land inside maybe the most hostile arena in college basketball were low. After the loss that took place on opening night at Michigan, it was a fair assessment. 

But head coach Greg Kampe said postgame he liked what he saw in Ann Arbor, and after an 87-77 loss at Purdue on Friday night, the veteran coach might be more understood.

“This was a hell of a basketball game,” Kampe said. “This was a high level, intense, powerful, physical basketball game played by two really good basketball teams.”

The first half saw Oakland jump out in front, and even push a lead out to 23-17. From there it was back and forth until the halftime buzzer, with four lead changes from that point until the 35-35 halftime tie. 

Oakland scored on their first two possessions in the second half, but the Boilermakers went on a run. Oakland found themselves down 53-44 with 15:30 to go. 

But the Golden Grizzlies weren’t done. They responded with a run of their own. Three different guys hit threes that sparked an 11-2 run, and had Oakland right back in the hunt, down one. 

“We made a mistake at the end of the first half,” Kampe said. “We had two fouls to give and instead of being up at half, they hit a three and we are tied, and they have all the momentum in the world.”

“They came out in the second half and blitzed us, like the number one team should. And we took it right in the chest, and we came right back and got the game back. That in itself shows a veteran coach of 1000 years, man this is a good basketball team.”

The Golden Grizzlies hung in for a little while longer, trailing 73-67 with just over four minutes left to play, but Purdue was too much. 

Ziare Wells turned himself into a weapon on Friday night, he was everywhere. Wells used a variety of finishes around the hoop and midrange buckets, usually aided by his dominant left hand, to lead the game with 21 points. He was also the games leading rebounder with 12. Wells began the exhibition season on the bench, and with Michael Houge and Warren Marshall IV returning back to the fold in the coming games, the depth of the Golden Grizzlies is starting to look impressive. 

Nassim Mashhour was excellent as well. He was a pest defensively, and scored 15 points while making three threes. He also helped out on the boards with five. It seems as though a leap has been taking from his freshman to sophomore seasons, and we are season him score in a variety of different ways, not just from deep. 

The big man duo of Buru Naivalurua and Isaac Garrett both reached double figures. Garrett had a few highlight finishes, including a spin into a dunk around preseason National Player of the Year Braden Smith in the early part of the second half. Naivalurua continued to display his all around game in the young season. He had 11 points, second tough rebounds, and tied the team lead with four assists. Naivalurua also attempted five more threes, making one. He is now 4-of-12 through two games, after going 3-of-7 I’m his first two seasons combined. Garrett posted a line of 10 points, five rebounds and three assists. 

Brody Robinson added 11 points and four boards from the point guard spot. He played 35 minutes and seems very important to the Golden Grizzly operation on the court. Brett White added seven points and four rebounds, making two massive threes that were contested. 

Even though Oakland lost and dropped to 0-2, this was a game that radiated positivity. This is a group that has plenty of tools and firepower to work with as we draw closer to Horizon League action. 

We are not there yet however, and another incredibly stiff test awaits Oakland on Wednesday of this week, when they travel to Houston to take on the now number one ranked Cougars. It will be the second straight game that Oakland plays the number one ranked team in the country. Houston returns guard starters Emmanuel Sharp and Milos Uzan, as well as big man Joseph Tugler from a team that won 35 games, won the Big 12 regular season and tournament championships, and was the National runner up after losing to Florida 65-63. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and is slated to start at 8pm Eastern Time.