Whereas in the past the Golden Grizzlies had a player who could deliver high points in a game, they haven't had that luxury this season, and the last several games Oakland have played have been close, gritty contests. Monday night the Golden Grizzlies beat Cleveland State 59-56, holding them a full 10 points below their season average, handing Oakland its first-ever win against the Vikings and marking the team's 500^th game played within Division I.

Without a scoring specialist the team has adapted its approach by utilizing senior Dante Williams to shut down opposing players that were previously dominant, and at times that has made the difference in the game. It may not be the type of play that coach Greg Kampe is used to working with, but it's what needs to work for the team this year and the Oakland's defensive game has been consistently strong.

"I hate it. I absolutely hate it, but this team's gotta play this way to win," Kampe said. "It'll never happen again but this year we gotta play this way. We don't have a guy that can go get us 30, and we've always had that for 30 years. We don't have that so we can't, we can't get in a shootout with anybody because Trey Lewis is gonna beat us, Alec Peters is gonna beat us, Keifer Sykes is gonna beat us. We got a guy that can shut those people down so we have to play that way."

Oakland may be fifth in conference scoring defense, but they have accumulated that record while playing the highest-scoring teams in the Horizon League almost exclusively. The Golden Grizzlies are riding a seven-game winning streak at home, and the team leads the Horizon League in 3-point field goal percent defense at 26.6.

Williams' efforts effectively erased Cleveland State's Trey Lewis from the equation. Lewis, the two-time Horizon League Player of the Week had just finished a 30-point game prior to coming to Oakland at Detroit, but Williams limited him to just five points for the duration of the game.

As he has in the past, Williams latched onto a high-scoring opponent, making it nearly impossible for teams to take advantage of what once was an open opportunity. A 6-foot-6 forward, Williams' defense has been solid throughout the season, but once Oakland began Horizon League play he took it to another level.

"Coach threw a challenge at me and just trying to take it and run with it," Williams said. "When the coach is believing in you and your teammates believe in you, it's hard not to believe in yourself. I've been going out there and try to play my hardest and it's been working."

Sophomore Kahlil Felder has rarely taken time off of the court this season and Monday night he played a full 40 minutes for the seventh time. With Williams focused on Lewis, Felder attached himself to the Vikings' Charlie Lee, a point guard of similar talents, effectively removing both players from the game. Felder finished the game with 16 points and six assists, most on the team in both categories, but his field goals and 3-pointers dropped off as a result of the work he did against Lee.

Alongside Felder, Williams, and freshman Jalen Hayes, who had five defensive rebounds and finished 9-for-13 in free throws, senior Corey Petros repeated his recent solid performance on the court yet again. Petros played just under 40 minutes, putting together eight defensive rebounds and finished 7-for-12 from the floor. With one game remaining at the O'rena in this five-game homestand, Oakland is beginning to show maturation and a belief that they can win no matter the opponent, a crucial attribute when the Golden Grizzlies play on the road.

"That locker room was like the locker room during our championship years after it was over," Kampe said. "They were happy, but they weren't giddy. When a team's giddy that means they didn't expect to win. This team was happy, but they took care of business. That's the greatest sign for me, is to walk in there and know they believe."

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