ROCHESTER, Mich. - The Golden Grizzlies fell for the first time in nearly two weeks with a loss against the Mastodons, 98-77, today inside the OU Credit Union O'rena.
 
The Golden Grizzlies (5-4, 1-1 HL) saw DQ Cole lead the way as he netted 21 points for Oakland, a game high, while the team had four total players record double-digit points. Cole, along with Tuburu Naivalurua, tied each other for the team lead off the glass with seven boards each.
 
The Mastodons (8-1, 2-0 HL) matched the Golden Grizzlies four players with four of its own with Anthony Roberts leading the way with 20. Eric Mulder led the Mastodons and the game with eight rebounds which included one on the offensive end.
 
The Mastodons came out of the gate firing and made its first shot of the game from deep. Isaiah Jones answered with a two to put the Golden Grizzlies on the board, but seven-straight from Purdue Fort Wayne gave it an edge. Trey Townsend halted the run with a jumper, but the Mastodons continued to pile it on and added seven-straight once again.
 
The Golden Grizzlies fell in a 14-point hole and remained down by double-digits for the following six minutes before Oakland began to crawl back. Chris Conway, who had a stellar first half, got the ball rolling for the Grizzlies comeback after a jumper in the paint and a huge slam that made the O'rena erupt.
 
Oakland looked to build off its momentum, down six with 4:29 to go, but the Mastodons hung around and answered with shots of its own. The six-point deficit turned to nine but once again, Conway came in to fire up the Golden Grizzlies with another dunk, followed by a pressured three on the other end that resulted in a missed shot.
 
Townsend ran down the court and drew a shooting foul and sank both from the charity stripe. Again, the Mastodons kept it going with a three, but Jack Gohlke drilled one from downtown while Jones drew a foul under the hoop after the shot was made. In the bonus, and now down by five, Jones made the front end up his one-and-one to close the gap to four. However, a last second three put the Mastodons back up seven heading into the locker room.
 
Conway and Townsend both showed excellence in the opening frame as Conway netted 13 points with Townsend right behind with 11. Townsend also led the team on the glass with three boards. The Mastodons were an astounding 60.7% from the floor, while the Golden Grizzlies shot well also from the floor at a .536 clip.
 
The Mastodons came out and put the lead back to double-digits in the first minute, but Jack Gohlke sank one from beyond the arc to put the Golden Grizzlies deficit to nine. Off the bench, Cole cut it to a six-point game but the Mastodons pushed ahead and started to run away with the game.
 
Purdue Fort Wayne once again made the lead double-digits and didn't let up its lead. At the 14:11 mark, the Golden Grizzlies were down, 63-51, but nine-straight points quickly turned the game sideways as the Mastodons were lights out from the floor. Townsend made a jumper to cut it to 19, but a 13-0 run made the game look like it was out of reach with 8:20 to go.
 
The Mastodons hovered around the 30-point mark as the Golden Grizzlies would find the basket, but the Mastodons always had an answer. Oakland attempted the cut the lead down as time was winding down, but the Mastodons force was too much.
 
Oakland was able to cut its deficit down in the final minutes, but the lead was too great as the Golden Grizzlies fell, 98-77.
 
The Mastodons struggled to miss a shot in the second half as the team went 21-of-29 (.724) from the floor with seven threes (7-of-10). Playing from behind, the Golden Grizzlies were forced to shoot which brought down its field goal percentage as it went 14-of-34 (.412) from the field with four from range. In total, the Golden Grizzlies shot 46.8% from the field while the Mastodons went 38-of-57 for a .667 clip. Despite the loss, Oakland won the battle of the boards, 28-24, with 11 total offensive rebounds.
 
The Golden Grizzlies remain at home for a weeknight game against Toledo. Tip-off from inside the OU Credit Union O'rena is set for 7:00 p.m on Wednesday (Dec. 6). All Oakland games this season will be live streamed through audio via The Bet1270 AM (WXYT-AM) & the Audacy App with Neal Ruhl on the call.