ROCHESTER, Mich. - The Golden Grizzlies men's basketball team wraps up its weekend in Wisconsin and looks to become the first Horizon League team to get a win in the state this season as it faces off against Milwaukee Saturday (Jan. 27) inside UWM Panther Arena, with tip-off set for 4:00 p.m. ET.
 
The Golden Grizzlies (12-9, 7-3 HL) fell in its first game of the Wisconsin road trip to Green Bay, 69-59, as it kept it close throughout the game before Green Bay pulled ahead late.
 
Oakland grabbed the first points of the contest before the team started to trade points back-and-forth. Oakland seemed to remain ahead slightly but Green Bay managed to tie things up at 20 apiece. Oakland eventually regained the lead but the Phoenix came soaring back to put itself ahead for the second time of the game. Jack Gohlke knotted things up before Osei Price rang one off from range to put Oakland back in front.
 
Green Bay tacked on a two to cut its deficit to one as both Oakland's and Green Bay's final possession of the half fell short, as the Golden Grizzlies held on to a tight lead, 28-27, headed into the locker room.
 
The theme of the game, specifically the second half, was trading points and lead changes as Green Bay went ahead, but Oakland answered and retook the lead. However, to stay with the theme, Green Bay hit another shot from deep to put itself ahead by two with under 10:00 to go. Chris Conway muscled his way in the paint for a jumper to even it up, but once again, Green Bay made its 10th three of the game to push ahead.
 
Rocket Watts went on to tie things up at 50 with just over six minutes to go, but Green Bay scored 11-straight points in the next 2:43 to put it ahead and make it a tall task for an Oakland comeback with 3:16 to play. Blake Lampman and DQ Cole hit from range, with a Green Bay three-point play sandwiched in between, to make it 64-56 in favor of Green Bay with 2:10 to go.
 
Oakland kept on fighting and chipped away at the lead with another Lampman three, but a Green Bay three with under a minute to go put the lead to great for a comeback, as Oakland fell to Green Bay, 69-59.
 
The Golden Grizzlies saw two players in the double digits for points as Lampman led the way with 15 points, with all 15 from range (5-of-10) as Conway tallied 14 and was 7-of-10 (.700) from the field. Cole led the team with his seven boards as two came on the offensive side.
 
In the second half, Green Bay nearly shot at a .600 clip (16-of-27, .593) to bump its percentage to 47.4% and tacked on seven from three in the final 20 to total its 12. Oakland shot 12-of-28 (.429) from the field in the second half to bump its game total to 22-of-53 (.415). The Phoenix outrebounded the Golden Grizzlies in the second half and brought its total to 32 compared to Oaklands 31.
 
SCOUTING THE PANTHERS
Since Milwaukee (10-10, 5-4 HL) dropped the early January game to Oakland, the team has gone 3-2 in league play which included two-straight wins, followed by two-straight losses, before it got back on the right foot with an 87-71 win Thursday (Jan. 25) over Detroit Mercy. The Panthers hold a 7-2 record at home, as its last loss inside the UWM Panther Arena came from the hands of Longwood Dec. 13, 80-67.
 
The Golden Grizzlies came away with the win against the Panthers earlier this month (Jan. 4), 100-95, inside the OU Credit Union O'rena.
 
Oakland hit the century mark for the first time in nearly two years with the win and also bumped its record to an even 8-8. In the win, Trey Townsend went 8-of-18 (.444) from the floor and set a season-high of 28 points as he brought down eight boards. Oakland held a lead after the first 20 minutes of play but the Panthers knotted things up with 17:15 to go the following half.
 
Although the Golden Grizzlies retook the lead and held it throughout, Milwaukee made it difficult for Oakland to try and pull away as it made it a two-point game with under 3:00 to play. The Panthers had to resort to fouls as Watts converted on his two to make it a four-point game with :20 seconds to go, but the Panthers came down the floor and rang off a three. A one-point game with :17 seconds to go, Watts controlled the ball and was fouled once again and made his two crucial free throws. One final three came up short for the Panthers as Isaiah Jones put the game to rest as the Golden Grizzlies hit the century mark, 100-95.
 
The Golden Grizzlies hold an edge in its last 10, with a 6-4 record, as the teams have switched off wins and losses in its last seven games. On the road, Oakland is 5-7 as the Panthers have yet to drop a Horizon League game on its home court.
 
BJ Freeman leads the team in points per game with 18.3, while also has the team lead in rebounds with 6.1 per game, as three total Panthers are in the double figures in points. Erik Pratt is behind with 13.1 per game, with Kentrell Pullian who follows with 11.6 points per game.
 
The Panther get outshot by its opponents as it shoots at a .443 clip from the floor, while it allows its opposition to hit at a .459 clip. The same is to say from range as Milwaukee shoots 32.6% from range while whatever team it plays shoot, on average, at 38.0%. Milwaukee also gets outscored, on average, 78.7-79.5. The team makes up for it as it outrebounds its opponents by a margin of 2.3 per game
 
Tip-off from the UWM Panther Arena is slated for 4:00 PM ET Saturday, Jan. 27.
 
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