ROCHESTER, Mich. - The Golden Grizzlies men's basketball team looks to extend its home win streak to five as the Robert Morris Colonials visit the OU Credit Union O'rena Thursday (Feb. 1), with tip-off set for 7:00 p.m. ET.
 
The Golden Grizzlies (13-9, 8-3 HL) bounced back after a loss to Green Bay and took down Milwaukee, 91-87, Saturday in a thrilling double overtime win to become the first Horizon League team to win in Wisconsin.
 
Each team grabbed a bucket in its first possession before the Golden Grizzlies went on a run to make it 10-2, but Milwaukee stormed back and scored the next nine points to take the lead, 11-10. The Panthers went ahead and maintained a double-digit lead as it went ahead by 11 with under five minutes to go, but a Blake Lampman make from range kept the Golden Grizzlies alive in the half.
 
Oakland started to roll as Isaiah Jones went along the floor for a fast break dunk, while Tuburu Naivalurua swatted the next shot from the Panthers away to give Oakland the ball back. Trey Townsend then drew a foul and made both of his from the line, before Oakland got the ball back and Naivalurua drew a foul and made his two.
 
Now with momentum and down only two, the Golden Grizzlies got another stop on the other end of the floor as Milwaukee went the final 4:15 of play without a point. Oakland had the ball on its side of the court as Jack Gohlke hit his third three of the night to cap off the first half on a 12-0 run and head into the locker room with the lead, 38-37.
 
Oakland kept the lead in the second half but Milwaukee eventually tied things up at 60 apiece with a three with just under seven minutes to play. The Panthers took a short two-point lead as Lampman banged home a three to put Oakland up by a point. The teams traded the lead in its ensuing possessions until Milwaukee grabbed a three-point lead with 2:09 to play.
 
As time ticked down, Oakland struggled to knot things up while the Panthers also couldn't put the game away. It wasn't until the Golden Grizzlies final possession of the second half where it got things in motion, as Gohlke missed an initial three, but Naivalurua came down with a key offensive board. The team worked it around the horn before it got back into the hands of Gohlke who hit from the logo for his 1,000th career point and a big one to tie the game up. Milwaukee had one final possession to take the game but Oakland came up with a strong defensive stop to force overtime with the score knotted at 68.
 
Just like at the end of regulation, Milwaukee had a three-point lead with under a minute to play. The ball once again went to Gohlke who drilled another three to tie things up with :36 seconds to play. Oakland came up with a stop down the floor but missed at the buzzer to take the game into double overtime, 76-76.
 
Milwaukee won the tip and hit a three to follow, but Gohlke drew a shooting foul from deep and hit all three from the line to tie it up. Milwaukee quickly went back ahead but the lead was given to Oakland after Cole hit one from deep. The game saw two more lead changes as Oakland eventually held an 84-83 lead with 2:30 to go. Gohlke continued to shine as he extended the lead to four after his 27th point and his eighth three of the game went through.
 
Oakland eventually put the game to rest after some free throws as the Panthers tried to force a third overtime, but the Golden Grizzlies took care of business and won, 91-87.
 
Gohlke led the way with his 27 points, a season-high, and hit eight from range, also good for a season-high. Naivalurua recorded a career-high in rebounds as he brought down 17, the first time a Golden Grizzly brought down 15+ rebounds since Jamal Cain (16) in 2021. Townsend recorded his fifth double-double of the season, and 16th of his career, with 21 points and 10 boards, and set a career-high in free throws made with 13.
 
In total, the Panthers shot slightly better from the floor than the Golden Grizzlies, as Milwaukee was 30-of-73 (.410) while Oakland was 28-of-74 (.380). Oakland was lethal from range and made 15 threes (15-of-41, .370) for the first time since 2021 (15 vs. Detroit Mercy at the O'rena, 1/22/21), while Milwaukee added nine. The Golden Grizzlies continued to win the battle of the boards and brought down 50 rebounds, something that hasn't happened since Feb. 20, 2021.
 
SCOUTING THE COLONIALS
Thursday's matchup is the 11th meeting between the two teams as Oakland holds an 8-2 record over Robert Morris. With seven of the 10 meetings on Robert Morris' court, Oakland is a perfect 3-0 at the OU Credit Union O'rena with its last win from home on Jan. 12, 2023, 69-65. A series that spans 23 years, with its first meeting a Golden Grizzlies' 77-53 win in Pennsylvania, Oakland looks to get back on the right foot as it dropped its last meeting to the Colonials, 68-63, last season (Jan. 29).
 
In the loss, Rocket Watts, Townsend and Lampman started for the Golden Grizzlies and Watts led active players with 13. Chris Conway and Osei Price also saw action as the team fell inside the UPMC Events Center.
 
Robert Morris (8-13, 4-6 HL) recently fell to Cleveland State, 66-64, which ended its three-game win streak. Robert Morris won its first Division I game this season against FDU, who beat No. 1 ranked Purdue in the first round of last year's NCAA Tournament, Nov. 26, 97-86, before it dropped its next four games. The Colonials rattled off two-straight wins before it dropped three-straight as it went on to win its first Horizon League game of the season against IUPUI, 92-48, Jan. 4. After a loss, the Colonials took three-straight Horizon League games, two which required extra time, before it fell to Cleveland State.
 
In its recent loss to Cleveland State, Robert Morris held on to a five-point lead at half but the Vikings came back and scored 40 in the final 20 to take the game, 66-64. The Colonials saw its lead grow to 10 after it grabbed the first five points of the second half and held onto its lead until 3:33 left in regulation. The Colonials retook the lead by one with 1:45 to play, but the Vikings held on and put the game away with a pair of free throws at the end.
 
The Colonials spread the ball out as five players are in the double-digits for points with Markeese Hastings leading the way with 15.3 points per game. Hastings shoots 113-of-216 (.523) from the field and nearly averages a double-double, as he leads the team with 8.4 rebounds per game. Right behind Hastings in Josh Corbin who's seen action in 18 of Robert Morris' 21 games with 13.1 points per game.
 
The Colonials outscore its opponents by a small margin, 75.3-75.0, but gets outshot from the field as it shoots at a .445 clip from the floor while its opposition hits at a .468 clip. Robert Morris makes an average of 8.2 threes per game while allowing 6.5, and outrebounds the team it plays by an average of 4.1.
 
Tip-off from the OU Credit Union O'rena is slated for 7:00 PM ET Thursday, Feb. 1.
 
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