Oakland and NKU to Meet Again in #HLMBB Quarterfinal

ROCHESTER, Mich. – The Barbasol 2023 #HLMBB Tournament quarterfinals will commence on Thursday, March 2 at 7:00 pm as Oakland University Men's Basketball will head to Truist Arena against No. 4 seed Northern Kentucky on ESPN+.

Jalen Moore and Keaton Hervey were honored on Senior Day against the, ironically, Northern Kentucky Norse on Saturday where the former of the two planted 27 points up on the scoreboard with a perfect 14-14 mark from the free throw line. Hervey ended the day with a team-high six rebounds.

Moore leads the team with 19.6 points per game ahead of Trey Townsend who is reliable for 16.4 and Hervey at 11.5. Townsend and Hervey are similar with boards in the stat sheet with 7.7 and 6.7 rebounds per game, respectively.

Blake Lampman is fourth in the conference in three-point field goals per game with an average of 2.4.

Moore is 19th in assists per game in the entirety of NCAA Division I at 5.6 with the 24th-most total assists with 156.

On Monday, Moore and Townsend were named to #HLMBB All-League teams with Moore on All-League First Team selection and Townsend on All-League Second Team.

Oakland last lost its first game of the #HLMBB Tournament in 2016-17, the same season in which the Golden Grizzlies made the NIT, defeating Clemson 74-69 before falling at Richmond 87-83.

The Golden Grizzlies last won a conference tournament title in the 2010-11 season with a 90-76 win over Oral Roberts in The Summit League title game. Oakland advanced to the first round of the NCAA Tournament going against No. 4 seed Texas in an 85-81 loss in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Townsend was named to the Lou Henson Award Watchlist on November 22 as one of four #HLMBB student-athletes listed.

Moore was the lone Golden Grizzly named to the Preseason #HLMBB All-League Team honor with OU predicted fourth with two first-place votes in the preseason poll as Purdue Fort Wayne and Northern Kentucky tied for the top honor. The Horizon League and ESPN released the annual wildcard selections for national telecasts with Oakland on four of the five potential selected dates, denoted on the team's schedule page and the game notes.

Head Coach Greg Kampe enters his 39th season at the helm for Oakland University as the second-longest tenured coach in NCAA Division I basketball behind Jim Boeheim from Syracuse, who is in his 42nd season. Kampe has posted a 675-523 (56.8%) career record.

The early signing period has come for OU as Aundre Polk will join the team on The Blacktop in the fall of 2023. Polk is a former MAC All-Freshman Team member at Central Michigan.

The Washington Wizards have acquired former Oakland University Men's Basketball student-athlete Kendrick Nunn from the Los Angeles Lakers.

SCOUTING REPORT

NORTHERN KENTUCKY
After their win against Oakland last Saturday, the Norse earned the fourth seed and a first-round bye with a hosting privilege The league announced #HLMBB honors where Trevon Faulkner was named Sixth Man of the Year, Marquese Warrick a Second Team accolade, and Sam Vinson was All-League Third Team and All-Defensive Team.

The Norse went 15-26 from the three-point arc on Saturday's game with Vinson, Warrick, and Trey Robinson all registering three. Vinson did lead the black and gold with 19 points while the team's leading rebounder, Chris Brandon, tallying 11 boards.

NKU has three Horizon League tournament titles from 2017, 2019, and 2020 in addition to its two regular season championships.

Warrick still leads the team with 19.0 points per contest with Brandon registering 9.5.

ALL-LEAGUE HONOREES
Moore and Townsend received #HLMBB All-League accolades on Monday, February 27 with Moore receiving All-League First Team and Townsend All-League Second Team.

ALL-ACADEMIC PROWESS
Blake Lampman was Horizon League All-Academic First Team announced by the league on February 23 with Trey Townsend as Honorable Mention. Lampman, Chris Conway, and Will Shepherd received College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Honors on February 21.

NO MERCY
Oakland has now won eight straight in Calihan Hall, the best record of any of the Titans' opponents in history. Marquette held the previous record of 7-0 until January 23 when Oakland won the 12th of the last 13 games in the Metro Series 76-67.

1,000 POINT CLUB
Townsend became the 37th Golden Grizzly to reach 1,000 career points in the team's overtime win against IUPUI off a free throw. Townsend followed it up with his 500th rebound in the win versus Detroit Mercy.

100 #HLMBB VICTORIES
Coach Kampe and the program registered its 100th #HLMBB win against Wright State on January 8. Kampe is the fourth coach in the conference to reach this feat.

FIRST POTW IN THE NEW YEAR
Moore garnered the team's first Nike #HLMBB Player of the Week Award on Monday, January 2 with an average of 21 points and 6.5 assists in the team's wins over Milwaukee and Green Bay in Rochester.

DA-DA-DA DA-DA-DA
Moore and Hervey connected from a steal for the off-the-glass slam by the grad transfer from Missouri State for the team's first #SCTop10 of the 2022-23 season, coming in at No. 10 in the daily ESPN show on October 20.

NEW FACES
The Golden Grizzlies welcome in four transfers, two from the power five-level, Rocket Watts (Mississippi State), Lorne Bowman (Wisconsin), Keaton Hervey (Missouri State), and Chuol Deng (Hill College). Three freshmen join the new class Cooper Craggs, Dominic Capriotti, and Evan Solomon.

NEW HEAT IN MIAMI
Oakland's own Jamal Cain has earned a contract with the Miami Heat for the upcoming season wearing No. 8. Cain is just the latest active Golden Grizzly in the NBA with Kendrick Nunn, a regular part of the Los Angeles Lakers rotation.

GET YOUR TICKETS
Season tickets can be purchased through the Athletics Ticket Office by calling (248) 370-4000 or emailing outickets@oakland.edu. Single-game tickets and mini-plans are also available for the 2022-23 basketball season.

NEW HOME FOR OAKLAND BASKETBALL
Oakland recently announced a partnership with Audacy that made 97.1 The Ticket HD3 and The Bet 1270AM (WXYT-AM) the official radio providers for the department. With this new partnership, 97.1 The Ticket HD3 and The Bet 1270AM (WXTY-AM) will provide coverage for all Oakland men's basketball games and the Greg Kampe Radio Show.

BACK FOR ANOTHER RUN
Kampe enters his 39th season at the helm of the Oakland men's basketball program. He is the second-longest tenured active coach in Division I, only behind Jim Boeheim (Syracuse, 45 seasons). Kampe's 674 career wins rank 12th among active Division I coaches.

PUTTING OAKLAND ON THE MAP
Kampe joined Oakland in 1984 after six seasons as an assistant coach at Toledo (1978-1984). Formerly known as the Pioneers, OU had only six winning seasons in 16 years of competition before his arrival.

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