ROCHESTER, Mich. - The Golden Grizzlies men's basketball team looks to get back on track in Horizon League play with a matchup against the Penguins Sunday inside the Beeghly Center, with tip-off set for 2:30 p.m. ET.
 
The Golden Grizzlies (6-8, 1-2 HL) nearly came back from being down as much as 23 points but fell at the end against Cleveland State, 75-67.
 
The Vikings grabbed the first points of the contest and didn't give it up for the remainder of the game. The game would be tied up early on, as Blake Lampman made a nice turnaround jumper to draw a foul, which he made, to make it 5-5 but eight-straight points from the Vikings put Oakland behind.
 
The Vikings grew its lead to 20-9 before Conway brought the team's deficit to single digits with two from the charity stripe. After a brief delay due to a lighting issue inside the Wolstein Center, the Vikings scored another three to put its lead to 24-13. The Vikings continued to press on the gas and went on a 14-0 run to extend its lead to 35-13.
 
The Vikings continued to streak in the game and went on another run of seven-straight before Tone Hunter added one from the free throw line to put the game at 41-23 headed into the locker room.
 
Trey Townsend scored the first four points of the second half, followed by a Lampman dunk to cut into the lead. The Vikings answered ​​but the Golden Grizzlies came roaring back and eventually cut its deficit back to single digits. Townsend and Conway added field goals before Gohlke sank one from deep followed by an Isaiah Jones two.
 
Rocket Watts and the Golden Grizzlies cut its 18-point second half deficit all the way down to four  with a make from downtown at 58-54 with 5:11 left to go. The Vikings continued to hang on to its lead, but the Golden Grizzlies always had an answer to keep it close as Lampman made a jumper for two.
 
With under 3:00 to go, Oakland was in crunch time to pull ahead of the contest. However, the Vikings pulled ahead to a 10-point lead with under a minute to go to make it difficult for an Oakland comeback. Jack Gohlke made a late three to make it 72-65, but it was too late as the Vikings went on to win, 75-67.
 
The Golden Grizzlies saw four players record double-digit points with Chris Conway who led the team with 14 points. Townsend was close behind with 13 points and recorded his 13th career double-double with 12 rebounds. Lampman and Watts followed suit with 12 and 11 points.
 
Oakland went 24-of-65 (.369) from the floor with five from downtown and 14 of its points came from the free throw line. Both teams were equal off the board as Oakland held an edge on the offensive side with 17. The Vikings went 25-of-57 (.439) from the floor with 12 makes from range.
 
SCOUTING THE PENGUINS
The Golden Grizzlies matchup against Youngstown State for the 34th time in program history and look to get back on the right foot after it fell, 77-73, in its last matchup (Jan. 27, 2023). On the road, the Golden Grizzlies nearly beat out the Penguins as five current Golden Grizzlies recorded minutes in the game. On average, Oakland puts 81.33 points on the board and are 6-4 in its last 10. Although Oakland fares well when it plays the Penguins on its home court, with a 15-3 home record, the Penguins holds an edge over the Golden Grizzlies with a 8-6 record on its own court. The Golden Grizzlies look to break a three-game skid that it has against Youngstown State with its last win coming Jan. 1, 2022, 87-72.
 
Youngstown State (10-3, 2-0 HL) recently took care of business against Navy, 75-65, and hold a seven-game win streak entering the contest. The Penguins started the season with two losses, notably a 92-62 loss against Big Ten team Michigan, before it rattled off three-straight wins. Its last loss came from the hands of Dayton, 77-69, on Nov. 24 before it started its streak. Also heading into the matchup, the Penguins will get a 10-day rest as its win over Navy occurred Dec. 21.
 
In its 75-65 home win over Navy, Youngstown State held on to its halftime lead and rode it to the win. Three Penguins were in double figures with two players on Navy in double-digit points. The Penguins narrowly shot better than Navy from the floor, with a .475 clip compared to .426, while Navy was better from range than Youngstown State. The Penguins' Brandon Rush led the team with 23 points and grabbed eight boards, while DJ Burns notched a double-double with 19 points and 13 rebounds.
 
Rush leads the team with 13.7 points per game as four players are in the double figures for points per game. Rush, who shoots 39.5% from the field (62-of-157) has drained 34 from range. Burns nearly averages a double-double and is one of three Penguins to start in all 13 games of the season. Burns, on average, grabs 9.1 rebounds per game and has 147 total points for an average of 11.3.
 
The Penguins average 81.5 points per game and hold its opponents to 67.9 per game and shoot, on average, 46.7% from the field. Youngstown State makes 8.8 threes per game and almost gets 10 more rebounds than its opponents with 42.1 compared to 33.8.
 
Tip-off from the Beeghly Center is slated for 2:30 PM ET Sunday, Dec. 31.
 
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