It is weird to say that a team has struggled in a place that had seen it go 5-2 while averaging over 96 points per game, good for third in the country. But entering the game against Northern Kentucky, Oakland had lost two straight home games and trailed by more than 25 points in both of them before losing each by double figures.
On Sunday, the Golden Grizzlies were able to get back on track in their own building.
“It’s funny how much things change over the course of a college basketball season,” Greg Kampe said postgame. “First five games in here we averaged over 100 points a game, and today we get back on track with our defense. That’s two games in a row now that we have won because of our defense.”
With the final score coming out to 76-65, it marked the second straight game Oakland has held an opponent to 65 points total. While both were impressive, against Purdue Fort Wayne there were 69 possessions of defense played while Northern Kentucky had 76 offensive possessions. The Norse only managed .85 points per possession, good for the second lowest by an Oakland Division I opponent this season.
“We may look back at that IU Indy game and say it’s the best thing that could have happened to us,” Kampe said. “We have locked in defensively.”
Oakland’s defense got a shakeup when big man Isaac Garrett went down, with Warren Marshall IV being used as the bottom defender of Oakland’s zone.
“The biggest thing for me is just being energetic, running up and down the court, making plays,” Marshall IV said of what has changed for him in the past few games. This performance netted eight points, four boards and two blocks.
Brody Robinson put up another big stat line. His 21 points and six assists led the team. Robinson also grabbed five rebounds. He discussed his recovery process from the flu postgame.
“The last few days were just trying to get my strength and weight back, I lost about eight pounds,” Robinson said. “I’m in the right building to be able to get back to where I needed to be with Terry [strength coach].”
There was not much working for either offense in the first half and the halftime score of 30-29 reflected that. Michael Houge was able to provide offense when the Golden Grizzlies did not have much else working. Houge finished with 18 points and 12 rebounds in 30 minutes of play. It is his second straight game with a double double.
Brett White II did not have his best shooting night, going 2-of-8 from deep, but managed to score 11 needed points. He also continued his rebounding tear, pulling down eight of them.
Buru Naivalurua had seven rebounds but was limited to nine points due to some foul trouble and some good defense. Ziare Wells did a bit of everything; he had seven points, six rebounds, five assists and three blocks.
Oakland notched its 10th league win with the result, moving to 10-3 in Horizon League play. While it sits behind Wright State at 10-2, the Golden Grizzlies are a game and half clear of Purdue Fort Wayne in third and a full three games ahead of Green Bay who is in fourth. Oakland also already swept Purdue Fort Wayne to win the tiebreaker with them and has beaten Green Bay on the road.
Next up is a trip to Cleveland to face a very hot Cleveland State team. The Vikings have won four in a row to climb back into the Horizon League picture at 5-7. Two-time reigning Horizon League Player of the Week Dayan Nessah is leading the charge for Cleveland State and will be at the forefront of Oakland’s gameplan. Oakland has lost three games in a row at the Wolstein Center, trailing by 20+ points in every game.
The game is Wednesday at 7 p.m. Eastern Time on ESPN+.
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