Derick Nelson surpassed 1,000 points for his career with 18 in the game. Box Score
ROCHESTER, Mich. ???C Junior Derick Nelson scored a game-high 18 points, and junior Erik Kangas added 16 points, but IPFW outscored the Golden Grizzlies (13-12, 8-6 Summit) 45-34 in the second half and shot 56 percent from the floor (15-27) in the final 20 minutes to defeat Oakland University, 71-66, in men???s basketball action on Saturday night in the Athletics Center O???Rena.
???We defended well for about 30 minutes tonight,??? said head coach Greg Kampe. ???But they scored at will for an 8-10 minute stretch and that cost us. We had a chance to make some plays down the stretch with some veterans and did not get it done.???
Nelson, a native of Lansing, Mich., became the seventh player in the Div. I era to surpass 1,000 points, pushing his career total to 1,004. Senior Patrick McCloskey broke the all-time school record tonight with his 119th game played.
The Golden Grizzlies led by as many as 11 points in the first half, 30-19, with 3:25 remaining in the opening 20 minutes. The Mastodons then outscored OU 7-2 to head in to intermission only down six, 32-26. Oakland shot 55 percent from the floor in the first half (12-22), and held the Mastodons to 35 percent (8-23).
???We had a chance to be up double digits at the break, but allowed them to get back into it and they believed they could win,??? said Kampe.
The run continued for IPFW, pushing it to 21-11 over a seven-minute span to take its second lead of the game, 41-40, with 13:51 remaining in the game. The Grizzlies regained the lead on the next trip down the floor, but the Mastodons continued to score down low as the lead went to 11 points, 58-47 (7:18), courtesy of a 14-2 run.
OU had one last charge late in the game with a 14-4 run of its own to get within one point, 61-60, with 2:30 on the clock. The Grizzlies had a crucial turnover after getting a steal at half court and missed the front end of a one-and-one from the free throw line to remain down one. IPFW???s DeWitt Scott then drilled a 3-pointer with 47 seconds left to secure the win for the Mastodons.
Oakland will host IUPUI on Thursday night in the O???Rena. The game will be regionally televised on FSN and will tip at 7:38 p.m.
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