ROCHESTER, Mich. - The Golden Grizzlies men's basketball team continues its road trip after the Cayman Islands Classic and heads to Cincinnati, Ohio, for a tilt against Xavier this Monday, with tip-off set for 6:30 p.m. ET.
 
The Golden Grizzlies (3-3, 0-0 HL) finished the Cayman Islands Classic 2-1, good for fifth place, and rallied to win two-straight after dropping its opener against Drake. Oakland's own Rocket Watts was named to the Cayman Islands Classic All-Tournament Team as he finished the tournament 20-of-43 from the floor with four from range, seven boards, 18.67 points per game and matched his career high with 23 points against Drake (Nov. 19).
 
After it fell to Drake (L, 77-85), the Golden Grizzlies took care of LMU (W, 74-69) before it faced Marshall. The Golden Grizzlies took a narrow lead heading into the locker room, 30-29, after play went back-and-forth in the first half of play. Oakland pulled ahead early in the second half and went on a 13-0 run early, but the Thundering Herd rallied back to make it a four-point game at 52-48 with 11:00 to go. Marshall had answers for the Golden Grizzlies buckets but remained ahead throughout.
 
It came down to the wire as Oakland went 3:00 without points with under 2:30 to go, but the team rallied and put the game to rest for the win, 78-71.
 
Watts was one of four Oakland players with double-digit points as he led the team with 20 points and shot 7-of-15 from the floor. Chris Conway was right behind with 18, followed by Jack Gohlke who sank five from range. Isaiah Jones had a career day and notched his first career double-double with 16 points and 10 grabs off the glass.
 
Oakland shot 43.1% (31-of-72) from the field and bounced back in the second half shooting at an impressive .548 clip from the floor. The Golden Grizzlies tacked on seven from range and contributed 48 of its points in the paint. Both teams grabbed the same amount of balls off the board but four more offensive rebounds were the difference maker in the category to give Marshall the slight edge.
 
SCOUTING THE MUSKETEERS
The Golden Grizzlies take on the Musketeers for the sixth time in school history with its first matchup dating back to 2003.
 
Xavier has the upper hand with a 5-0 series lead and all games in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Golden Grizzlies look to bounce back after its previous meeting, 101-49, which took place in the 2020-21 season. Three current Oakland players were rostered and saw minutes in the previous game in Blake Lampman, Trey Townsend and Chris Conway. Lampman and Townsend both started for the Golden Grizzlies with Conway coming off the bench. It was a tough test for Oakland as no players recorded double-digit points and shot 23.2% from the field with seven three pointers. Xavier saw five players with 12+ points and shot an impressive 60.6% from the field and went 13-of-33 from deep.
 
To date, the Golden Grizzlies average 60.8 points when they meet the Musketeers and let up 82.4 points per game. Oakland has come close to pulling out the victory on three occasions, with two 10-point losses and one being 11 points.
 
Xavier (4-2, 0-0 Big East) recently took down Bryant, 100-75, and sit at a two-game winning streak after it beat Saint Mary's before. Oakland will be the second Horizon League team Xaiver will face after the Musketeers opened its season with a 77-63 win against Robert Morris. The Musketeers two losses on the season came from nationally-ranked Purdue, 83-71, on the road along with a close loss to Washington, 74-71, in the Continental Tire Main Event.
 
In its win against Bryant, graduate student Quincy Olivari led the team and game with 22 points (9-of-16 FG) and made four from beyond the arc. Four other Musketeers recorded double-digit points as Dayvion McKnight nearly recorded a double-double with eight boards to go along with his 11 points (5-of-8 FG).
 
Sophomore Desmond Claude leads the team in points per game with 15.5 and is one of three Musketeers above 10 points per game. Olivari follows suit with 13.8 per game, followed by Gytis Nemeiksa with 10.8 and leads off the glass with 5.5 rebounds per game.
 
This season, the Musketeers top its opposition in most statistical categories as it shoots at a .474 clip from the field (176-of-371) and holds its opponents to a .370 clip. With 37 makes from deep, Xavier outrebounds the team it plays by an average of 1.4 and shares the ball well with 18.5 assists per game.
 
Tip-off from the Cintas Center is slated for 6:30 PM ET Monday, Nov. 27.
 
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