CHICAGO — A season-high five Golden Grizzlies scored in double-figures as Oakland defeated UIC 81-77 in its Horizon League opener on Thursday night inside the Credit Union 1 Arena. 

Second-year freshman Trey Townsend led the Golden Grizzlies (6-2, 1-0 HL) with 22 points to go along with six rebounds and a season-high three blocks. Graduate senior Jamal Cain and junior Jalen Moore tallied double-doubles in the win. Cain had 19 points and 10 rebounds, while Moore finished with 14 points, 10 assists, and five rebounds. 

Second-year freshman Micah Parrish contributed with a season-high 13 points on 4-of-4 shooting and added seven rebounds. Junior Zion Young also made a difference with 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting, including a trio of 3-point makes on four tries. 

As a team, Oakland shot a season-best 52-percent (28-of-54) from the floor and 46% (6-of-13) from behind the arc. Meanwhile, UIC (2-5, 0-1 HL) was limited to a 44% shooting clip (33-of-75) and nine 3-pointers on 35 attempts. While both teams had 36 rebounds, the Flames pulled down 15 offensive boards compared to eight for Oakland. To add, UIC forced OU to 18 turnovers. 

Oakland controlled the momentum early on, leading 11-6 with 14:20 remaining in the opening half. UIC cut its deficit to 11-10 following consecutive makes, but the Golden Grizzlies used an 8-0 run to extend their advantage to 24-13 at the 6:57 minute mark. 

Later in the period, Young caught heat with three-straight 3-pointers to increase Oakland's edge to 33-15 with 5:59 to go. Townsend scored on a hook shot to build the OU lead to 41-22 at the 2:11 minute mark, but the Flames closed the half on a 7-0 run to make the score 41-29 heading into the break. 

The Golden Grizzlies extended their advantage to 61-44 with 12:25 left in the second half following a contested jumper by Young. However, UIC answered back with a 5-0 scoring spurt to decrease Oakland's lead to 67-60 at the 6:50 minute mark. 

A 3-pointer by Moore pushed OU's edge to 76-66 with 2:37 left in the period, but the Flames then went on a 10-3 run to close their deficit to 79-76 with just 53 seconds remaining in the conference contest. UIC missed a potential game-tying 3-pointer in its next possession. Oakland followed with two free throw makes by Moore at the 11-second mark, which proved too much for the Flames to overcome. 

The Golden Grizzlies will continue HL play on Saturday, Dec. 4, at IUPUI.