After a grueling stretch of facing four power conference teams on the road, the short trip to Eastern Michigan must have felt like a breeze for Oakland.
The game played, however, did not go as easy.
Oakland fell to the Eagles by a score of 97-91, and saw their early season record drop to 1-5.
“I credit them. They had a game,” said Oakland head coach Greg Kampe. “Sometimes the other team just plays better, and that’s what happened tonight.”
The Eagles made 8 of their first 13 shots from behind the long line, and did not stop scoring from all three levels throughout the entire night. They ended the game shooting just under 63% from the floor.
It ended up being a season high point total for Eastern Michigan, who had not scored more than 83 prior to this performance.
While Oakland could not quite get over the hump, it displayed why those around the team are so excited about the offensive talent that this roster has in their holster.
The Golden Grizzlies had five Golden Grizzlies score in double figures, with four of them reaching at least the 15 point mark.
Brody Robinson led the way with 22 points. He made 4-of-6 from three, and added six assists. When Oakland got down early in the second half, he began to take over the game. Robinson is clearly a point guard that Oakland can trust when conference play hits.
Buru Naivalurua and Isaac Garrett did not have incredibly efficient games, but they both hit 15 points and continue to look like an elite mid major front court duo. Naivalurua also added six assists and five rebounds.
Nassim Mashhour contributed double figires as well, scoring 10 points.
Maybe the most exciting development from the loss was the immediate impact that Michael Houge was able to make in his season debut coming off of his ankle injury. Houge went 7-of-9 from the floor for 17 points, In just 20 minutes of action. His rebounding will be a factor in the future as well, as he continues to get healthier. I would expect Houge to be inserted into the starting lineup at some point soon.
Houge was clearly getting acclimated to Oakland defensively still, and it wasn’t just him struggling to get stops. Oakland as a team did not play well on that side, and while the Golden Grizzlies are heading out as a top 100 offense in the country analytically, they are sub 300 in defense (Kenpom). If Oakland can raise the level of their defense even a little bit, it could mean some great things for the season ahead.
Oakland now turns their attention to their Feast Week MTE in Montana. The action starts with a game against Lamar, before a true road game against Montana on Tuesday at 9pm Eastern Time. Oakland against Lamar will take place on Monday and tip off at 4pm Eastern Time. Montana and Lamar play each other Sunday, and all games are available to be watched on ESPN+.
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