ROCHESTER, Mich. - The Golden Grizzlies men's basketball team looks to build off its win against Wright State and split the season series against Purdue Fort Wayne as it takes on the Mastodons Wednesday inside the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum, with tip-off set for 7:00 p.m. ET.
 
The Golden Grizzlies (16-10, 11-4 HL) bounced back and took down Wright State, 74-60, on the road in its first matchup of the season.
 
The opening minutes went back-and-forth before the Raiders took its own largest lead of the night at five, nearly seven minutes into the game, before the Golden Grizzlies rattled off eight-straight to take the lead and run with it. The Golden Grizzlies kept up its pace and locked down on defense against Wright State's nationally ranked scoring offense (6th overall in NCAA) as it only allowed two points from the team in 7:29 of playtime.
 
The Raiders didn't trail far behind though and held its deficit to a pair, but Jack Gohlke widened the lead with a make from deep, followed by a turnaround jumper from Chris Conway to push its lead to double digits. The lead turned to 12 as Oakland went into the locker room up, 36-24.
 
Wright State cut its deficit to single digits but Oakland kept up and continued to hold strong defensively. Although Wright State averaged 86.0 points per game, the Golden Grizzlies held strong as it took nearly 35 minutes of game time for the Raiders to reach 50. The Raiders were never out though and kept Oakland on its toes as it made one from downtown to make it 63-56 in favor of the Golden Grizzlies with 4:13 to play.
 
Oakland eventually pulled away as Trey Townsend drilled a three to put the game on ice with a minute to go as it took the game, 74-60.
 
Townsend led the Golden Grizzlies as he shot 9-of-14 (.643) from the field with one three to total 19 points along with seven boards. DQ Cole grabbed his first double-double in a Golden Grizzlies uniform as he knocked down seven of his 11 shots (.636) for 15 points and led the game with 11 boards.
 
The Golden Grizzlies shot an even 31-of-62 (.500) from the field as the Raiders struggled overall from the floor as it went 23-of-68 (.338). Oakland knocked down eight from range as Wright State only had a handful as it attempted 28 (5-of-28 3FG). Oakland held the edge off the glass after 40 minutes and brought down 40 compared to Wright State's 39.
 
SCOUTING THE MASTODONS
The Golden Grizzlies fell to Purdue Fort Wayne (16-9, 7-7 HL) in its first home Horizon League game of the season back on Dec. 2 (L, 98-77). Since the early season game, the Mastodons are an even 8-8 but are 3-7 in its last 10. In that span, the team went on a five-game skid, all against Horizon League opponents, before it went back-and-forth in wins and losses since. Purdue Fort Wayne heads into Wednesday's game off a win against Robert Morris, 92-65, after it bounced back from a three-point loss against Cleveland State.
 
Last time out, the Mastodons were lights out as it shot at a .607 clip in the first half and followed it up by going 21-of-29 (.724) in the second half for a .667 total overall. The team also went 17-of-26 (.654) overall from beyond range to reach its 98.
 
The Golden Grizzlies went into the half down, 46-39, and inched close to a comeback in the opening minutes of the second half. Cole cut the lead down to six, but the Mastodons continued to shoot well and pushed its lead to as much as 32 with 8:41 left to play. Purdue Fort Wayne stayed ahead and kept a 20+ point lead for the remainder of the game to take the win, 98-77.
 
The Golden Grizzlies look to put a halt to its four-game skid against the Mastodons as its last win came in Fort Wayne on Jan. 15, 2022, 76-68. Townsend led current Golden Grizzlies as he played all 40 minutes in the win and tallied 15 points. Conway, Blake Lampman and Osei Price also saw action in the win. The Golden Grizzlies hold a 7-4 record when it visits Purdue Fort Wayne and is 4-6 overall in its last 10 matchups.
 
Sophomore Jalen Jackson leads the team with 16.2 points per game as he shoots at a .531 clip from the floor. Also a sophomore, Eric Mulder holds the team lead off the glass with 6.6 per game.
 
The Mastodons outscore its opponents by an average of 10+ points as it scores 81.8 points per game while it holds its opponents to 71.2 per game. The team shoots at a .472 clip and adds 9.4 threes per game but get outrebounded, on average, by six per game.
 
Tip-off from the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum is slated for 7:00 PM ET Wednesday, Feb. 14th.
 
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