ROCHESTER, Mich. – Oakland University bested Cleveland State in a 92-89 overtime thriller at the Athletics Center O'rena in #HLMBB play on Saturday afternoon, overcoming a 16-point deficit in the second half.

Following an 11-3 lead by the efforts of Jalen Moore, Keaton Hervey, and a first-possession three by Blake Lampman, the Vikings charged back after a sluggish start that brought the visitors within two with 6:31 to go in the first half.

The tying shot at 15-15 would come for CSU at 5:50 with Hervey keeping up the offensive effort with a deep ball at 18-15 on the scoreboard. Four of the next five shots by Cleveland State were deep shots that converted and suddenly had the Golden Grizzlies down by ten with 27 seconds to go in the frame. 

Trey Townsend received a pass from Moore that had the Oxford native make a layup and bring the deficit down to eight at 36-28 after the first 20 minutes. Oakland was 1-13 when losing at halftime to this point.

The Vikings picked right up where they left off after the first with the only Golden Grizzlies scoring in the first four minutes Moore and Lampman, who tried to eat into the CSU lead. 

With 11:28 remaining, Cleveland State held a 16-point lead that nearly suffocated the energy out of the O'rena as the Golden Grizzlies strung together a plethora of free throw attempts from Townsend and Hervey that put a dent into the Vikings' efforts.

With 2:42 to go on the board, eight points were all that separated the two teams as Moore and Townsend went to the charity stripe in back-to-back possessions as the rest of the squad stared down a five-point deficiency.

The score was 77-73 as Townsend drilled a layup and only one of two free throws fell for Cleveland State at the line that set up a triple by the Vikings with 26 seconds left.

Lampman answered with a triple of his own, allowing the Golden Grizzlies to a two-point deficit that naturally gave the Vikings the ball back with 10 seconds to go in regulation. CSU would inbound the pass, mishandled by Tristan Enaruna, and be collected into the hands of Osei Price who handed the ball off to Hervey as the grad transfer was fouled on the way up to the basket, sending him to the line.

FOR 1, 2, 3!!!!

Golden Grizzlies call timeout. pic.twitter.com/yvI4tYrJmf

— Oakland Basketball (@OaklandMBB) February 4, 2023

Hervey hit both free throws as Enaruna had another opportunity to win the game with a second remaining, ending the first 40 minutes of play with a jumper that wouldn't fall. Oakland had been 2-1 in overtime games this season prior to Saturday. 

Townsend started things off in overtime as the Vikings came back to take a one-point lead at 85-84 off a free throw and a layup. Both Lampman and Townsend went to the charity stripe for four additional points to the Oakland column as only a jumper registered for Cleveland State. 

More free throws from Lampman granted OU a three-point edge as Ramar Pryor from the visiting black jerseys bagged a layup in the paint to squeeze the gap to one. 

Two seconds later, Cleveland State fouled Moore and brought him to the line with three ticks on the scoreboard, where the senior hit both opportunities with a three-point barrier. The Vikings' Drew Louder took it up the floor and offered up a prayer as time expired with the ball just grazing the bottom of the net, illuminated by the red LED lights at the O'rena.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Moore spearheaded the scoring for Oakland with 25 points
• Lampman and Townsend each tallied a career-high four blocks in the contest
• Lampman tacked on a career-high 22 points with Townsend registering a career-high 17 rebounds as well
• Moore played in all 45 minutes
• Oakland had 19 points off turnovers to CSU's 16, the Vikings had a total of 14 turnovers

The Golden Grizzlies will travel to Green Bay on Thursday, February 9 at 8:00 pm ET to face the Phoenix at the Kress Center.