ROCHESTER, Mich. - Trey Townsend and DQ Cole led the way for the Golden Grizzlies as the team rallied and defeated the Norse, 70-65, in overtime today inside the OU Credit Union O'rena.
 
The Golden Grizzlies (10-8, 5-2 HL) saw Cole hit some key shots down the stretch to account for 17, while Townsend tallied a game-high 18 points in the overtime win. Cole nearly recorded a double-double with eight boards as Chris Conway matched with eight of his own. Rocket Watts also finished the night in double figures as he made four of his 10 points in overtime.
 
The Norse (8-9, 3-3 HL) also had three players in double digits for points as LJ Wells led the team with 14 points and recorded a double-double with 15 rebounds.
 
Northern Kentucky got on the board first with a make from three for the only points in the initial 3:39 of play. Townsend grabbed the first bucket for the Golden Grizzlies and drew the foul and converted on the three-point play to knot things up. The game got squared away at five, but a steal gave Cole a fastbreak as he slammed one home to make the O'rena erupt.
 
Townsend made yet another and-one and went up strong, before he hit from the charity stripe, to give Oakland a three-point lead with under 12 minutes to go. Northern Kentucky went on an 8-0 run in the next 2:42 to give itself a five-point lead, but Townsend ended the run with a drive to the hoop. The Norse extended its lead to six, but four-straight from Watts cut the teams deficit to a pair.
 
With his third and-one of the game, Townsend put the Golden Grizzlies ahead by one but the Norse rallied and retook a four-point lead with 5:06 to play. Blake Lampman narrowed the lead after a made three, answered down the floor with a layup from the Norse, before Townsend picked up his 1500th point as a Golden Grizzly with a mid-range jumper. Northern Kentucky rattled off a pair of baskets before the first half expired as the Golden Grizzlies went into the locker room down, 29-24.
 
It was a strong defensive effort on both ends of the court with well contested shots as Northern Kentucky held an edge on the floor and shot 12-of-35 (.343) compared to the Golden Grizzlies 9-of-29 (.310). The game saw four threes in the opening 20, three from the Norse and one from the Golden Grizzlies, as Oakland held the lead off the glass with one more board than Northern Kentucky.
 
The Norse opened the second half on a 6-0 run to extend its lead to 11 before Conway grabbed a pair to cut the deficit to single digits. Isaiah Jones added one from the line, but the Norse converted to put it back to a 10-point game. Conway split through two defenders en route to a slam, followed by Jones who picked off a pass at half court and slammed a fast break dunk. Jack Gohlke capped off a 6-0 run for Oakland to make it 37-33 as the Norse went 2:37 without a point.
 
A pair of Norse free throws were answered by a Gohlke make from downtown, but a layup gave Northern Kentucky two points right back. However, Gohlke came down and made another from range and drew a foul, followed by a Norse technical where he eventually made it a one-point game. Northern Kentucky continued to answer but the Golden Grizzlies also hung around to keep the game close with under 10 minutes to go.
 
Cole hit from the Golden Grizzly logo near center court to make it 47-46 in favor of the Norse. Points were traded back-and-forth before Cole hit a step-back three as the shot clock hit zero to give the Golden Grizzlies its first lead since the 5:47 mark of the first half. A bad pass gave the ball right in the hands of Oakland as Cole continued his hot streak and drove in for a hard two.
 
Now with a four-point lead and the momentum of the O'rena behind it, the Golden Grizzlies locked down on defense and forced tough shots for the Norse. Northern Kentucky went 3:52 without a point as it finally grabbed two with 2:36 to go. Oakland still held on to its lead with under two minutes to go before the Norse cut it to a two-point game with 1:34 to play.
 
Townsend made a free throw to make it a three-point game, but the Norse answered and knotted things up with just under a minute to play with one from range. The two teams got tied up as the possession arrow showed Northern Kentucky who got the ball with :25 seconds to play. Townsend came up with a big steal to give the Golden Grizzlies the basketball with 4.6 seconds left of regulation. The Golden Grizzlies drew up one last play but 40 minutes wasn't enough as the game headed into overtime, 58-58.
 
Watts opened the scoring up with a floater, followed by a Norse turnover, before Watts added another two for a four-point lead. The Norse tallied three-straight to make it a one-point game with 3:18 to go, but Cole hit from nearly halfcourt to make it 65-61 with 2:20 to play in OT. Oakland held on to its four-point lead until the 1:14 mark as the Norse cut it to two.
 
Townsend pushed it back to four with two makes from the line, but Northern Kentucky answered with two from the line as well. Lampman drew a crucial foul from beyond the arc and made all three to put the game out of reach at 70-65. The Norse gave one final effort but couldn't hit from downtown as the Golden Grizzlies took care of business in overtime, 70-65.
 
As a whole, the Golden Grizzlies went 23-of-61 (.377) from the floor and added six from downtown, as it increased in the second half at a clip of .407. The Norse also improved from the floor in the second half, at a .423 clip, as the team struggled as a whole from the floor at 25-of-68 (.368). Oakland held on to its first half lead off the board and grabbed 46 total rebounds compared to Northern Kentucky's 43.
 
The Golden Grizzlies hit the road this weekend as it's set to square off against IUPUI Saturday (Jan. 13), with tip-off set for 2:00 p.m. ET. 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.