MILWAUKEE, Wis. – In their final road game of the regular season, the Oakland Golden Grizzlies were defeated by the Milwaukee Panthers, 80-77, in overtime on Saturday, February 11 at UWM Panther Arena.

Rounding out a two-game road swing, which began with a victory over the Green Bay Phoenix on February 9, the Golden Grizzlies are now 11-16 and 9-7 in the Horizon League, tying them with the Wright State Raiders for fifth in the conference.

Milwaukee, who has now had four of their Horizon League games go to an extra session, moves to 18-8 and 12-4 in the conference, good for second in the standings.

Oakland had the Panthers on the ropes for much of the night, as the Golden Grizzlies led for 35:55, compared to just 3:47 for Milwaukee.

Interestingly, after senior forward Ahmad Rand scored the game's first bucket to give the Panthers a 2-0 lead 23 seconds in, Milwaukee was not ahead again until sophomore BJ Freeman buried a 3-pointer with 2:22 left in overtime for the final points of the contest.

Shooting 70 percent (7-10) from 3-point range in the first half, highlighted by a 4-5 performance from junior Blake Lampman, Oakland took a 10-point advantage, 50-40, in the halftime break.

With the offensive pace slowing down in the second half, the Panthers gradually worked their way back, cutting it to five, 72-67, with 6:27 to play in regulation.

Rand tied the tilt at 75 with a layup at the 1:30 mark at the two teams went scoreless for the final 90 seconds, giving the more than 1,800 fans in attendance some bonus basketball.

Only seven total points were scored in overtime, five for Milwaukee and two for the Golden Grizzlies. Oakland had one final 3-point attempt as time was expiring to try to extend the game and send it to a second overtime, but sophomore forward Trey Townsend's corner attempt was long.

Townsend paced all scorers with 21 points and three rebounds, while senior Jalen Moore had 19, eight assists and six boards and Lampman ended up with 18 on 6-12 from distance. Sophomore Chris Conway was the fourth Golden Grizzly in double figures with 10 and four rebounds.

Rand and redshirt senior Vin Baker Jr. tallied a team-high 16 points apiece for the Panthers, with sophomore Justin Thomas and Freeman also in double-digits at 13 and 15, respectively.

Milwaukee won the rebounding battle, 39-31, and compiled 17 assists to Oakland's 14. The Golden Grizzlies did commit only 10 turnovers over the 45 minutes, however, compared to 14 for the Panthers.

UP NEXT
Beginning a four-game homestand to conclude the regular season, Oakland will link up with the IUPUI Jaguars on Wednesday, February 15 at 7 p.m. on ESPN+ (subscription required).

The Jaguars are 4-22 and 1-14 in Horizon League play and the Golden Grizzlies topped IUPUI, 83-77, in another contest that went to overtime back on January 19 at Indiana Farmers Coliseum.