ROCHESTER, Mich. – The Oakland Men's Basketball team made the short trip up Rochester road to face cross-town foe, the Rochester University Warriors on Tuesday night, emerging victorious 66-64 despite a rambunctious Garth Pleasant Arena.

Blake Lampman once again opened the game on a positive note for Oakland, drilling a 3-pointer on the first possession with Rocket Watts assisting on the play. Heading into the regular season, Oakland has the nation's fifth-longest streak of games with a three-pointer at 1,064 matches as the Golden Grizzlies continue their shooting run.

The Warriors of Rochester came out firing, shooting the three-ball at an extremely efficient 50 percent clip.  RU nearly replicated their efficiency from the field as they shot 48.5% on their attempts from inside the 3-point line. 

Checking in roughly five minutes into play, Chris Conway came in to lend a helping hand to the struggling Golden Grizzlies offense. The momentum quickly swung as Conway immediately drew a charge for the black and gold. The Naperville, Illinois native was feeling it offensively as well as he scored on three straight offensive possessions. Conway concluded his first half with six points and an offensive rebound in just seven minutes of action.

Rochester's hot shooting would give them the 39-30 lead as the first half came to a close.

The second half contained more neck-and-neck, fast-paced basketball for the remaining 20 minutes. Detroit native, Watts would quickly make his presence known as the second half began. 

Watts put his six-foot-two, 187-pound frame to good use quickly as the transfer student from Mississippi State would score on three straight offensive possessions. The first of which was a fouling layup where Watts would hit the ensuing charity shot. The following two offensive possessions Watts would drive the lane, once again laying it in and following that up with a pull-up transition 3-pointer.

Much like Conway did in the first half, Watts helped Oakland through some offensive struggles, scoring eight straight for the Golden Grizzlies. 

With crunch time rapidly approaching, and the Warriors not letting up, Trey Townsend and the Oakland defense would step up and lead the way to victory. 

The last five minutes of play featured eight straight defensive possessions where Oakland refused to relinquish a single point. Cranking up the intensity defensively proved to trouble Rochester, as the warriors went from shooting 50 percent from long range in the first half of play to 25 percent in the second half. 

Oakland's offense also saw some halftime tune-ups. The Golden Grizzlies drastically improved their three-point percentage by 15% and their free-throw percentage by 25%. Watts aided Oakland in the improvement of their 3-point percentage, and also made his shots when the steaks were at their highest. 

With just minutes to play, Watts would nail another pull-up three-point shot in transition, his second of the half. 

The powerful six-foot-six, 230-pound sophomore, Townsend, proved to be too much for the Warriors defense as Townsend would score six points in the last four minutes of play, including the go-ahead layup to give Oakland the 66-64 edge over Rochester. 

TONIGHT'S TOP PERFORMANCES
 

• Townsend posts 20 points on 10-15 shooting, three rebounds, along with one steal and two blocks.
• Watts poured in 15 points, eight of which were scored in quick succession in the second half, three rebounds and four assists. 
• Keaton Hervey scored 12 and grabbed 14 total rebounds while adding an assist.
• Lampman put up nine points, dished out four assists, and added three rebounds plus a steal. 
• Conway netted six points on 75% shooting and grabbed three offensive rebounds.   

The Tuesday night victory puts a lid on Oakland's flawless 2-0 exhibition record for the 2022-23 season. Next, the Golden Grizzlies open up regular-season play Monday, November 7, as they are set to take on NCAA Division III Defiance at 5:30 pm inside Athletics Center O'rena.  
 

#GrizzVision with Coach Kampe | RU Exhibition Recap pic.twitter.com/YPsP60ObHG

— Golden Grizzlies (@GoldenGrizzlies) November 2, 2022