INDIANAPOLIS — The No. 3 seed Oakland men's basketball team took down No. 4 seed Northern Kentucky 69-58 in the Horizon League Men's Basketball Championship semifinals Monday night at the Indiana Farmers Coliseum. The win advanced the Golden Grizzlies (12-17, 10-10 HL) to their first title game appearance since joining the conference in 2014. 

The upperclassman trio of Daniel Oladapo, Rashad Williams, and Jalen Moore combined for 50 points in the victory over two-time defending HL champion NKU (14-11, 11-7 HL). Oladapo led the way with 19 points on 9-of-15 shooting, along with nine rebounds and two assists. Rashad Williams caught heat in the first half with three 3-pointers and finished with 17 points. Moore had an all-around performance with 14 points, seven assists, and six rebounds. Trey Townsend also stepped up, as he finished just shy of a double-double with nine points and 11 rebounds (five offensive boards). 

Oakland shared the ball well in the tournament win, racking up 16 assists compared to season-low four turnovers. Moore's seven assists paced the Golden Grizzlies, while Micah Parrish chipped in with four assists of his own.

The OU defense held the Norse to 33.3 percent shooting from the field, including 23.3% from beyond the arc. League Freshman of the Year Marques Warrick was limited to 3-of-15 shooting and eight points in the game.

After jumping out to a 9-7 advantage, Oakland went on an 8-0 run with 14:40 left in the first half, culminating in a three from Williams, to increase its lead to 17-7. NKU inched within two points, 28-26, with a minute remaining the half, but a three-pointer by Moore brought the game to 31-26 in favor of OU at the break.  

The Golden Grizzlies shot 5-of-12 from 3-point territory in the half, led by Williams with a 3-of-5 showing from deep. NKU struggled with a 2-of-14 clip from outside the arc but led the rebounding battle 24-16 to stay within striking range.

Following intermission, Oakland kept widening its lead, expanding it to 41-32 before going on a 6-0 run, finished off by Townsend's layup, to grow the lead to 47-32 with 11:03 to go in the contest. The Norse narrowed the margin to nine points, 64-55, at the 2:35 mark in the second period, but the Golden Grizzlies cruised the rest of the way for the 69-58 win. 

Oladapo found a rhythm, scoring 11 of his team-best 19 points on 5-of-7 shooting in the closing period. Townsend contributed with nine points and five rebounds in the half as well. 

With the win, the Golden Grizzlies will face No. 1 seed Cleveland State in the championship game tomorrow at 7 p.m. The title contest will air nationally on ESPN.

Postgame Press Conference