ESTERO, Fla. — Trey Townsend's career-high 25 points boosted Oakland to a 76-73 victory over Rice in the Gulf Coast Showcase semifinals on Tuesday evening at Hertz Arena.
The Golden Grizzlies (4-2) advance to tomorrow's title game, where they will take on Delaware at 7:30 p.m.
Townsend reached 25 points on an efficient 12-of-18 shooting and added six rebounds. Graduate senior Jamal Cain's impressive stretch of play continued as he shot 9-for-13 en route to 19 points. Junior point guard Jalen Moore contributed with 13 points, 10 assists, and six rebounds, good for his second double-double of the season. Second-year freshman Micah Parrish notched eight points, eight rebounds, and two steals, while sophomore guard Blake Lampman scored nine points on 3-of-6 shooting from outside the arc.
Oakland shot a season-high 51.6-percent (32-of-62) from the field in the victory. The Golden Grizzlies had their way close to the basket, outscoring Rice (4-2) 36-22 in the paint. The OU offense also took care of the ball with a season-low eight turnovers.
Meanwhile, Rice (4-2) won the rebound battle 34-29, which included 11 boards on the offensive end. The rebounding advantage led to 14 second-chance points for the Owls.
Rice used two 3-pointers to open an early 6-2 lead over Oakland at the 17:17 minute mark of the first half. However, Townsend himself went on a 10-0 run to give the Golden Grizzlies a 12-6 advantage with 12:24 remaining in the period.
With 4:27 to go in the half, Lampman drilled his second 3-pointer of the game, widening Oakland's edge to 22-14. Trailing by eight points, Rice went on an 8-2 run to reduce its deficit to 31-29 with just 37 seconds left. Moore responded with a 3-pointer to give OU a 34-29 lead going into the break.
The Owls got within one possession on multiple occasions in the second half but never managed to even the score or take the lead. Oakland's advantage went down to 37-35 following a 3-pointer by Rice's Cameron Sheffield. However, the Golden Grizzlies answered with an 8-2 run to go up 45-37 at the 14:46 minute mark.
Rice drilled another 3-pointer with 7:31 to go, making the score 60-57 in favor of OU. Oakland responded with a 4-0 run, as Cain made consecutive jumpers to extend Oakland's lead to 64-57 at the 6:32 minute mark.
The Golden Grizzlies led by four or more points for the following six minutes, but Rice threatened with an 8-0 run over 26 seconds to minimize its deficit to 74-73 with two seconds remaining. Moore then converted on two free-throw attempts to push Oakland's lead to 76-73. The Owls threw up a shot near half-court before the final buzzer, but it sailed wide of the basket to clinch a second-straight tournament win for the Golden Grizzlies.
Oakland's trip in Florida will come to an end tomorrow in the Gulf Coast Showcase title game against Delaware. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.
#GrizzVision with Greg Kampe
