ROCHESTER, Mich. - The Oakland men's basketball took control of its home opener and helped head coach Greg Kampe earn his 676th win as the Golden Grizzlies took down the Falcons, 81-62, Tuesday night inside the OU Credit Union O'rena.
 
The Golden Grizzlies (1-2, 0-0 HL) were led by Trey Townsend who notched 20 points (8-of-16) with four boards and four assists. Off the bench, DQ Cole was a perfect four-for-four from deep, while Jack Gohlke followed right behind with three buckets from beyond the arc. Gohlke nearly recorded his first double-double of the season as he caught seven off the glass.
 
The Falcons (2-1, 0-0 MAC) saw a double-double from Jason Spurgin as he went 7-of-12 from the field with 10 boards. Sam Towns followed with nine boards to go along with his 10 points.
 
In front of a packed crowd, junior Chris Conway got things started for the Golden Grizzlies as the team rattled off the first seven of the game. The Falcons held its ground though and came back with seven of its own to knot things up at 14:41. Forward Trey Townsend ended the Falcon run after he took it to the hole for two, but a Bowling Green dunk tied things right back up. It would be the only time, however, that the game would be tied in the first half as it rained down threes from Jack Gohlke. The 6-3 guard made back-to-back shots from beyond the arc which made the O'rena erupt and give the Golden Grizzlies the momentum it needed to keep the lead.
 
Bowling Green made it a four-point game at the 11:42 mark, but Oakland quickly responded and put itself ahead by double-digits at the midway point of the half. The teams traded points but a dish from Rocket Watts found Aundre Polk under the basket as he slammed it home to regain momentum.
 
Bowling Green stuck around and cut the lead down to five, but a DQ Cole three followed by a drive-in layup from Tuburu Naivalurua gave the Golden Grizzlies its second double-digit lead of the game with 5:19 to go.
 
It appeared the Falcons would make things even by halftime as it cut its lead to four with 1:21 and started to put the pressure on. Conway thought otherwise as he drilled a fade-away jumper to put the lead to six. Following a block from Conway, the Golden Grizzlies marched back down the floor as Conway went hard to the hoop for two with a Falcon technical that followed. Two made free throws capped off the first half as Oakland went into the locker room up, 38-28.
 
As a team, the Golden Grizzlies shot 14-of-30 (.467) from the field and tacked on three balls from deep. The Falcons won on the boards, with a differential of +4, but only shot 43.3% from the field (13-of-30) with one three. Gohlke led the way with 11 points off two threes and five from the charity stripe.
 
Oakland continued its shooting from the half previous but struggled to inch away from the Falcons who stuck around early. The Golden Grizzlies maintained a slight double-digit lead but the Falcons seemed to have answers to stay in the game.
 
A Bowling Green jumper and a ball from three cut the lead down to eight, but Oakland came roaring back and also had answers to thwart any sort of comeback.
 
Keeping its double-digit lead after the midway point, the Falcons crawled back and brought it back to single digits with 7:02 to go. The Golden Grizzlies kept it foot on the gas and didn't let off as it went on to score the games next 12 points in the matter of three minutes. Cole started it off with a bucket from deep, followed by another trey after Townsend sank two from the line. Cole brought the house down with yet basket from beyond the arch to make the lead too great for the Falcons who quickly found itself in a 20-point hole.
 
Bowling Green ended the run with 2:32 to play and attempted a comeback, but the Golden Grizzlies lead was far too much as it won its home opener and first game of the season, 81-62.
 
The Golden Grizzlies improved from the field in the second half and went 14-of-27(.519) with four makes from deep. The Falcons added three more from range but went down in shooting percentage as it finished 25-of-58 from the floor. Oakland narrowly got beat out on the boards, 32-29 but made up for it with 10 more steals than the Falcons.
 
Oakland now heads to the Caribbean to compete in the Cayman Islands Classic in Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands. The Golden Grizzlies are set to open the classic against Drake Sunday, Nov. 19, with tip-off slated for 11 a.m. ET. Information on the Cayman Islands Classic can be found here.