FORT WAYNE, Ind. - Rocket Watts and Blake Lampman both netted their 1000th career NCAA point as the Golden Grizzlies defeated the Mastodons, 71-63, to earn the season split tonight inside the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum.
 
The Golden Grizzlies (17-10, 12-4 HL) were led by Jack Gohlke who buried a go-ahead three with :38 seconds to go in the game to secure the Golden Grizzlies lead. Gohlke tallied 23 points as he hit six shots from range and added five points from the line. Chris Conway led off the glass for Oakland as he brought down seven boards to go with his 12 points.
 
The Mastodons (16-10, 7-8 HL) had four players in double figures as Rasheed Bello led the team with 15 points as Eric Mulder brought down nine rebounds.
 
It was a gritty opening to the half as each side held strong before Conway muscled his way through the paint, drew the foul and watched his bucket drop. Conway hit from the stripe, but it was a quick lead as the Mastodons grabbed five straight. Just like the Golden Grizzlies lead though, Purdue Fort Wayne's lead came and went as DQ Cole added the first three for Oakland, followed by a drive-in two from Trey Townsend.
 
The Mastodons got the lead back minutes later as Oakland went nearly four minutes without a field goal as Gohlke ended the skid with one from range. Oakland grew its lead to seven, up 19-12, but the Mastodons went on a 7-0 run in the next 1:10 of play to even things up. Cole put the Golden Grizzlies drought to an end as he tallied his second three of the game at the 5:42 mark of the first half.
 
Watts hit career point 1000 after he pulled up and sank a two after Cole, as Townsend followed it up with a hook shot to reverse the Mastodons 7-0 run to grab seven-straight itself. Lampman added to the run with a two, followed by another deep make from Gohlke, as the game started to run away from the Mastodons who went almost six minutes without a point. Purdue Fort Wayne eventually converted off a fast break layup, as Gohlke followed it up with his fourth three, but the Mastodons added a three at the buzzer to make it a 10-point game at half, 34-24.
 
The Golden Grizzlies fared well from the floor as it shot 13-of-25 (.520) with six makes from range (.462) as the Mastodons struggled and shot at a .321 clip. With nine total makes, four came from deep (.267) and the Golden Grizzlies led the battle off the glass with 19 compared to Purdue Fort Wayne's 14.
 
Gohlke kept it rolling as he drilled another from beyond the arc, followed by makes from Townsend and Cole as Oakland sped to a 15-point lead. The Mastodons grabbed a basket, but Townsend slammed one through to bump the lead back to 15. Besides a make from the line, the Mastodons held Oakland scoreless for almost six minutes to find its way back in the game. Purdue Fort Wayne made it a 5-point game after it went on an 11-1 run and put itself back in the game near the halfway mark.
 
The Mastodons knotted things up at 45 a piece before it grabbed its first lead since the 13:16 of the first at 10-9. Lampman tallied the first field goal for the Golden Grizzlies in 7:37 of game time as he hit his 1000th career point, all with the Golden Grizzlies, with a make from range. Cole retook the lead for the Golden Grizzlies as he hit a wide-open three to make it 51-49 with 7:32 to play. The lead was short lived as Purdue Fort Wayne knocked down back-to-back threes to take a four-point lead.
 
Cole cut the teams deficit to one as he sank his fourth from deep, followed by a hard drive to the hoop by Conway to regain the lead. Oakland forced a miss on its defensive end as Gohlke drew a foul and sank two from the line to make it a three-point game with 2:35 to go. The Mastodons made it a one-point game, but excellent ball movement and court vision from the Golden Grizzlies put Townsend open for the drive-in two.
 
With a tick over a minute to go, Purdue Fort Wayne made one of two free throws, but Gohlke put the game on ice as he drilled a three with :38 seconds to go to put Oakland up by two possessions. The Mastodons turned the ball over on the following possession as Purdue Fort Wayne started to resort to fouls. Oakland's lead was too large for Purdue Fort Wayne as the Golden Grizzlies took care of business and won, 71-63.
 
Although the Mastodons outshot the Golden Grizzlies in the second half, 14-of-28 (.500) compared to 11-of-24 (.458), Oakland led the game as it shot at a .490 clip from the floor. Both teams added five from range in the second half, as Oakland shot 11-of-24 (.458) from deep. The Golden Grizzlies once again held the edge off the glass as it totaled seven more boards than the Mastodons.
 
The Golden Grizzlies return home Saturday (Feb. 17) as it looks to extend its home-win streak with a matchup against IUPUI, with tip-off set for 3:00 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.