ROCHESTER, Mich. - The Golden Grizzlies men's basketball team eyes its first five-game win streak in over two years as it heads south to Indianapolis for a weekend tilt against IUPUI inside the Indiana Farmers Coliseum, with tip-off set for 2:00 p.m. ET.
 
The Golden Grizzlies (10-8, 5-2 HL) tallied its fourth-straight conference win, which put it t-1st with Green Bay in the Horizon League standings, after it survived against Northern Kentucky and took it down in overtime, 70-65.
 
Northern Kentucky got on the board first in the contest before the Golden Grizzlies answered in a hard contested first half by both sides. The Norse mainly held a narrow lead throughout the opening 20, as the Golden Grizzlies jumped ahead a handful of times, but the low-scoring half ended with a score of 29-24 in favor of the Norse.
 
Northern Kentucky extended its lead with a 6-0 run to start the second half and extended its lead to double digits before Chris Conway cut it back down 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.
 
Northern Kentucky hung around and maintained its lead but DQ 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.
 
Northern Kentucky tied things up at 58 and had the ball with under :30 seconds to go before it turned the ball over to give Oakland one last shot in regulation. The attempt fell short as the game headed into overtime tied at 58.
 
Rocket 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. Blake 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.
 
This week's Horizon League Player of the Week, Townsend once again led the Golden Grizzlies with 18 points followed by Cole who hit some key shots down the stretch to account for 17. Cole nearly recorded a double-double with eight boards as Conway matched with eight of his own. Watts also finished the night in double figures as he made four of his 10 points in overtime in the win.
 
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 compared to the first 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.
 
SCOUTING THE JAGUARS
The series between these two dates back to 1998 as the Golden Grizzlies won its initial matchup, 76-61, on its home court. In 45 meetings, its most against any other Horizon League team, Oakland holds an overall record of 27-18 and have only dropped four on its home court with a 17-4 record. Oakland looks to right the ship in Indianapolis and chip away at its losing record on the road with a 9-11 record. With a current win streak of four, Oakland is 6-4 in its last 10 against the Jaguars.
 
The last time these two teams met was Feb. 15, 2023, as the Golden Grizzlies took care of business on its home court, 85-81. Townsend went 8-of-11 and was tied for a team-high in points with 23, While Watts, Lampman, Conway and Osei Price all saw the floor.
 
IUPUI (5-13, 1-6 HL) has dropped its last four games, all conference play, as it fell Wednesday (Jan. 10) to Green Bay, 68-58. The teams sole Horizon League victory was against Detroit Mercy, 67-55, after it beat Defiance College before. Three of the Jaguars wins have come against Division III foes, all at home, and sit 4-4 on its home court. The team opened up with two-straight wins, one against DIII Spalding University (Ky.), followed by a win at Valparaiso. The team went on to drop its next eight games against DI opponents before it beat the Titans.
 
In its most recent game against Green Bay, IUPUI knotted things up at half at 29 but Green Bay pulled away in the second half to secure the win, 68-58. IUPUI grabbed a quick lead in the opening seconds of the second half, but Green Bay answered with a three and didn't look back as Green Bay remained ahead for the remainder of the game to hand IUPUI the loss.
 
In the loss, Vincent Brady II and Jlynn Counter were in the double figures in points as Brady II finished with 15, and Counter with 13. Qwanzi Samuels led the team off the glass with six boards. Counter leads the team with 14.5 points per game and shoots at a .475 clip from the floor as Bryce Monroe is the only other Jaguar with double-digit points per game with 10.7. Samuels has nearly eclipsed the 100 rebound mark and leads the team with 5.4 rebounds per game.
 
As a whole, the team gets outscored by its opposition, 76.9-66.1, and struggles from beyond the arc at a .256 clip. With 30.5 rebounds per game, the team lets up 32.9 and turn the ball over, on average, 14.4 times per game.
 
Tip-off from the Indiana Farmers Coliseum is slated for 2:00 PM ET Saturday, Jan. 13.
 
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