HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – On Friday night, Oakland University Men's Basketball suffered an 87-78 loss in Horizon League play at the BB&T Center at the hands of the Norse (12-9, 8-4 HL) from Northern Kentucky University. 

Jamal Cain's three pointer from the far corner started Oakland (16-6, 9-2 HL) scoring as those three points would only hold for the first three and a half minutes before Trey Townsend's fierce layup would put the Golden Grizzlies at five points with the game 8-5. 

Micah Parrish's three-pointer from deep knotted things up at 8-8 entering the first media timeout. A standing triple from Jalen Moore gave OU its first lead of the game as the game ticked under 12 minutes before sinking another one on the ensuing possession to lead 16-12. 

Osei Price's shot from deep forced a timeout on the floor as the Golden Grizzlies saw themselves shooting 53.8% (7-13) from the field early on, 62.5% (5-8) from deep. 

At the under eight media timeout, Oakland still held an eight-pont 23-15 lead over the Norse as Moore sank two free throws out of the break to go up by ten. Townsend's steal and slam kept Oakland up by seven before Cain's wide-open layup put things at 29-20 with just over four minutes to go in the half.

Townsend and Parrish's buckets kept Oakland above the Norse by 11 at 33-22 with Cain's baseline jumper inflating the lead to 13 at 1:11. Cain's and one layup finished Oakland scoring before the Norse were able to sink a fade-away basket at the buzzer to half the game at 38-26. 

Cain and Moore were already stacking double-digit points early on as Cain led the team in rebounds with seven and Moore in assists with four. Townsend's eight points were complimented by four rebounds and two steals to the Oxford native's credit. 

Oakland outrebounded NKU in the first half 18-14 as the Golden Grizzlies continued to shoot 53.8% (14-26) from the field, 38.5% (5-13) from range, and a perfect 5-5 from the free throw line. Per the trend, OU finished 12 points off the Norse turnovers and compiled 14 points in the paint to tie the home team.

The Norse went on a 7-0 run to start the second half before a single Townsend free throw broke the three-plus minute scoring drought for the Golden Grizzlies. Price's standing three from beyond the arc prefaced a media timeout that saw Oakland up by nine at 42-33. 

A series of triples by the Norse pulled Oakland's lead down to one at 42-41 with 13:14 remaining before Parrish's contested three and a free throw put Oakland back up by five. A few possessions later and NKU was on top by one at 47-46. 

Oakland retook the lead behind a silencing three by Price before the Norse finished in the paint tie tie things back up at 49-49 as things would continue to be tied at various points throughout the second frame. 

Moore's shot from deep broke a three-minute freeze on scoring for Oakland though the team still found themselves down 58-56 with the timeout on the floor at 4:28. The Norse continued to pile on their lead as a one-and-one free throw attempt to seal it at the end of the game resulted in a high ball off the heel of the iron and landed into the hands of the Oakland defense. From then, a pass to Moore followed by a last-second heave at the buzzer by the Cloverdale native forced overtime.
 

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— Oakland Basketball (@OaklandMBB) February 5, 2022

From then, NKU picked right back up where they left off, handing Oakland its second loss in Horizon League play 87-78. 

Moore finished with a team-high 24 points to lead the Golden Grizzlies scorers with Parrish just behind with a career-high 20. Cain went to the bench with his ninth double-double of the season with 12 points and 14 rebounds as Moore once again led the team with seven assists.

Oakland will turn right around and play Wright State University in a 7:00 p.m. tip at the Nutter Center in Dayton, Ohio on Saturday, February 5. 

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— Oakland Basketball (@OaklandMBB) February 5, 2022