Oakland Beats Lamar and Montana to Win Blaine Taylor Classic

The Oakland Golden Grizzlies had gone three weeks into the season without a win over a Division I opponent.

After a trip across the country that included connecting flights to Montana, they now have two.

Oakland knocked off Lamar 83-68 on Monday and defeated Montana 95-87 on Tuesday in a true road game.

“It’s very hard for us to get games, and it’s very hard for Montana to get games. That is why we are here,” said Greg Kampe after the tournament. “We were able to get two games back-to-back (like in the Horizon League Tournament).”

Getting two wins in this tournament was going to be a challenge for anyone. Lamar was the runner up in the Southland Conference a year ago, and Montana has been the class of the Big Sky in recent years, winning both championships last year and picked to do it again in 2026. Lamar beat Montana on their home floor on Sunday, setting the stage for Monday’s contest.

After a closely contested first half, Oakland began to pull away from Lamar. After allowing nearly 100 points to Eastern Michigan, Oakland’s defense forced 16 turnovers and held the Cardinals to 40% shooting from the field.

That performance allowed Oakland to win the last 12 minutes of the game 32-19 and come away with a hard-earned win that had little stress in the last few minutes.

“This was a heck of win for us,” Kampe said. “They are really good. They’re 6-11, 6-10, they are physical, they rebound, they press the whole court the whole game. And we handled it. Every time they made their little run, we were able to play to our strengths and get the ball inside.”

With Michael Houge making his first start of the season, it was the first time Oakland’s front line was all together. The three of Buru Naivalurua, Isaac Garrett and Houge combined for 53 points.

“Our frontline man. They are really good.”

The three headed minster showed up again on Tuesday night, with Houge scoring the first nine points of the game against Montana. Oakland raced out to a 19-9 lead.

Montana fought back and turned the first half into a back-and-forth affair, with Oakland leading 46-43 at the midway point.

Once again, Oakland closed fast. This time, Oakland was down two with 13 minutes to play. They closed the game 36-26 to win the Blaine Taylor Classic.

“Joe Fan doesn’t understand what Montana is. This is real basketball that has had real success,” Kampe said.

It was the first time Montana had lost back-to-back nonconference games in 11 years.

Michael Houge was named to the all-tournament team after averaging 17.5 points per game and 4.5 rebounds per game in the two contests, as was Buru Naivalurua. Naivalurua posted 17 points per game and 5.5 rebounds per game. Isaac Garrett was left off the team, but scored 15 points per game, grabbed 7.5 rebounds per game, and added 3.5 assists per game and a few blocks and steals.

While the frontcourt produced, Brody Robinson was named MVP of the Blaine Taylor Classic. In the two games, he averaged 17.5 points per game, 8.5 assists per game and 3.5 rebounds per game. He was able to be a closer for Oakland in both contests.

Oakland now uses the 2-0 trip to bring their season record to 3-5. The Golden Grizzlies will now enjoy a full week without a game, before beginning conference play against Purdue Fort Wayne at home on Wednesday December 3rd at 7pm Eastern Time on ESPN+.