ROCHESTER, Mich. - The Golden Grizzlies secured its sixth-straight conference win as Oakland rallied back from an opening half deficit to defeat Youngstown State, 70-67, today inside the OU Credit Union O'rena.
 
The Golden Grizzlies (12-8, 7-2 HL) saw three players in double figures as Chris Conway led the team with 17 points (6-of-8 FG) while DQ Cole tallied eight key points in a span of 0:59 seconds in the second half and led the team in rebounds with eight.

The Penguins (13-6, 5-3 HL) had four players in double digits as Ziggy Reid tied Conway's game-high with 17 points while DJ Burns recorded a double-double with 12 points and 15 rebounds.
 
The Penguins got out to a quick 13-point lead before the Golden Grizzlies got on the board, courtesy of Trey Townsend, at the 14:16 mark of the opening half. Rocket Watts got on the board as the game went scoreless for the next 2:14 as each side locked down on defense. Townsend broke the drought by both sides as he sank one to cut the Golden Grizzlies deficit to seven with 11:02 to go.
 
Youngstown State answered with a three to put the lead back to double digits, but Blake Lampman found Isaiah Jones wide open under the hoop before he put it through. Lampman drew a foul and made both from the charity stripe, but four-straight points from the Penguins bumped it back to a 10-point Golden Grizzly deficit.
 
Tone Hunter spun around the paint and made a basket but the Penguins seemed to have an answer and kept its lead at bay. Townsend added three more points under his belt after he went hard to the hoop, drew the foul and made his basket in the process. Now 22-15, a big defensive stop gave the Golden Grizzlies the ball before Hunter drew a shooting foul and sank both to make it a two-possession game.
 
Lampman made the O'rena erupt after he drained one from downtown to put the team's deficit to two at 22-20. The Golden Grizzlies clawed back from its deficit and doubled the Penguin's points after the 13-0 run to knot the game up at 26 apiece with help from two free throws from Conway. Youngstown added a three and a layup, but a fadeaway jumper from Townsend capped the first half as Oakland went into the locker room down three, 31-28.
 
Strong defense was apparent in the opening half, as Oakland went 9-of-27 (.333) from the field while Youngstown State went 13-of-36 (.361) from the floor. The Golden Grizzlies made one from range while the Penguins made three, as Youngstown State held the edge on the glass with 24 rebounds compared to Oakland's 18.
 
The Golden Grizzlies came out quick after Townsend banked in a three to tie the game up. Youngstown State grabbed a quick two, but ball movement gave Hunter a wide-open look to knot things back up. However, the Penguins sank back-to-back threes, with a Conway hook shot in between, to put itself up, 39-35. Jones came down with an offensive board and muscled right back up to grab two, but the Penguins made another three to put it back to a five-point game. The following Golden Grizzlies possession, Lampman was open from beyond the arc and drilled one from range.
 
Two-straight makes from the Penguins put itself up by six, but an 8-0 run from the Golden Grizzlies, all from Cole, gave the team its first lead of the game. Cole hit from downtown after the team recovered an offensive board, followed by a layup, as a defensive stop gave Cole and Oakland the ball back where he banked one in from deep. Tuburu Naivalurua rejected the following shot from the Penguins and drew a shooting foul on the other end to extend the lead to three.
 
The Golden Grizzlies continued its 12-0 run and pushed it to 52-46 as Jack Gohlke got in on the action and made one from deep before a Penguins free throw ended the run. Youngstown State went on a quick 6-0 run to tie the game up, but Lampman made his third shot from range to give Oakland the lead again. The Penguins turned it to a one-point game, but Conway sank his first three of the year to extend the lead.
 
The game teetered back-and-forth with scoring on both ends as Oakland held its ground and kept a one-point lead with 1:16 to play. Conway got fouled under the rim which put Oakland in the bonus as he hit both from the line to give his team a three-point lead. Two makes from the line for the Penguins made it 68-67 in favor of Oakland with under a minute to play.
 
The Penguins forced a turnover and had the ball with the shot clock turned off and called a timeout. After the timeout, the Penguins threw it in its backcourt but mishandled the ball because of immense pressure from Watts as Oakland converted and got two off a goaltending call. The Penguins had one final look with a pair of threes but fell short as the Golden Grizzlies survived and won its sixth-straight game, 70-67.
 
The Golden Grizzlies improved significantly from the floor in the second half and shot at a .552 clip (16-of-29 FG) to improve to .446 from the floor. Oakland added seven threes in the final 20 for eight on the game to match Youngstown State's eight. The Penguins still won the battle off the glass with 41 boards compared to the Golden Grizzlies 33.
 
The Golden Grizzlies get a week off before it picks up where it left off with a league game against Green Bay Thursday, Jan. 25, with tip-off set for 7:00 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.