Rochester, Mich. - Oakland bounced back tonight as they took care of business in their final exhibition game, besting Wayne State 86-71.

Oakland came out the gate with an aggressiveness that seemed to be missing in their first exhibition against Walsh.

Right at the start senior guard Rocket Watts pick-pocketed the Wayne State ball handlers as he grabbed two steals in the first five minutes. Junior Trey Townsend also turned up the defensive intensity, swatting two Wayne State shots in the first half as well. Oakland accumulated three steals and three blocks, forcing five turnovers in the first 20 minutes of play.

Oakland led wire-to-wire in the first half, largely thanks to an impressive three point barrage from graduate student Jack Gohlke, who hit four triples (4-8 3FG) in the first half alone, nearly eclipsing the five he hit all of last game in an efficient fashion.

Townsend also picked right up where he left in the previous game, leading the Golden Grizzlies with 15 first half points (5-9 FG) on an array of tough shots.

Oakland continued to apply pressure all half until the halftime buzzer as junior Osei Price took a steal with nine seconds left and threw a dime to graduate student Blake Lampman for a last-second three, his second of the half, to give Oakland a 12 point lead, their largest of the game to that point, going into the second half.

After missing the first game due to injury, Oakland was happy to have Lampman back in the lineup. The graduate student guard definitely provided a veteran offensive presence that the Golden Grizzlies were missing in their previous exhibition. He finished with 10 points on the night in his season debut.

"I think having Lampman out there was very important," said Oakland Head Coach Greg Kampe. "He's a veteran who's very vocal and he's definitely the outright leader of this team. Having him on the floor with his constant talking is great".

Oakland continued to attack in the second half, as a tough Lampman layup would cap off a 7-0 run and put Oakland up 58-41 with 15:13 left in the game.

Junior Chris Conway saw limited minutes, but made the most of them. In his stint on the court he converted contested layups through traffic and contact in consecutive possessions to keep Oakland's lead at double-digits (62-48) with 13:30 left in the game.

The Golden Grizzlies struggled at the charity stripe against Walsh, but this game they made sure to take advantage of those free points, going  26-33 from the line, nearly doubling their total from last game. DQ Cole made a living at the stripe, blowing by his defenders for fouls and going 10-12 from the stripe. Gohlke drew a couple of fouls on three-point shots as he worried the Warriors with his three point shot, going a perfect 7-7 from the line. 

Cole finished with a  12 point, 10 rebound double-double, showing his effect on every aspect of the game, despite only shooting 1-5 from the field.

"If you think DQ Cole is a good player right now, just wait until January," said Kampe. "He's going to be a really, really good player... He did all kind of stat-stuffing things that helped the team win the game".

Oakland won the battle on both ends of the floor tonight. Offensively, four Golden Grizzlies scored in double digits while the team shot a collective 25-61 (.410) from the floor. Lampman netted 10 points and three assists, Gohlke lit up the floor for 25 points (6-15 3FG), and Townsend ended with a double-double as well with 19 points and 10 rebounds as Oakland spread the wealth on offense.

Defensively, Oakland forced 12 turnovers by Wayne State, constantly keeping pressure on the Warriors guards whenever they touched the ball. Price joined Watts as both players finished with two steals on the night, but the Oakland backcourt was pesky and active all night.

With bigmen Aundre Polk and Cooper Craggs now out due to injury, Oakland was forced to play man-to-man defense and deviate form their normal zone, but in ways it paid off and showed what could be a new defense until their bigs can return. Oakland forced 12 turnovers by Wayne State, constantly keeping pressure on the Warriors guards whenever they touched the ball. Price joined Watts as both players finished with two steals on the night, but the Oakland backcourt was pesky and active all night.

See what else Coach Kampe, Gohlke, and Cole had to say about tonight's win HERE. 

Oakland ends their exhibition stretch with much more optimism after game two, and the real deal is right around the corner. The Golden Grizzlies are slated to head to Ohio State on Nov. 6 as they kick off their season with a big matchup with Ohio State.

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