ROCHESTER, Mich. - The Golden Grizzlies couldn't keep up with the top-ten nationally ranked offense of the Raiders as it fell, 96-75, today inside the OU Credit Union O'rena.
 
Although the Golden Grizzlies fell, it still clinched a share of the Horizon League Regular Season Championship as Green Bay fell to Youngstown State for its first regular season title since 2017. The Golden Grizzlies have a chance to take the outright title in its final game against Detroit Mercy Saturday (March 2).
 
The Golden Grizzlies (19-11, 14-5 HL) were led by DQ Cole who tallied 18 points off eight shots from the field with one from range, as Trey Townsend tallied yet another double-double with his 14 points and 13 boards.
 
The Raiders (17-12, 12-6 HL) saw five players in the double figures for points, with a pair in the 20s. Alex Huibregtse led the Raiders with 21 points as he sank five from deep, as Brandon Noel recorded a double-double with 19 points and 15 rebounds.
 
Each team traded a two to start the game before the Raiders hit the first three of the game to put itself ahead. The Golden Grizzlies would answer though, as Townsend knocked down a pair from the charity stripe, and Blake Lampman hit his first from downtown. The Raiders put itself ahead shortly after, as it scored six-straight points to make it 11-7, and eventually bumped its lead to 18-9 with 13:49 to play in the first.
 
Chris Conway drove hard towards the basket and drew the foul, while his shot dropped, and hit the free throw for the three-point play. The Raiders answered with a three-point play itself, and eventually bumped the lead to 10-points, before Jack Gohlke nailed his first shot from range. The Raiders kept pushing and increased its lead to 11, at 26-15, but Lampman made it an eight-point game with a make from downtown.
 
The first half was high flying as Oakland closed in on the lead as both teams were going back-and-forth as Gohlke drilled another three, followed by a slam by Conway to make the O'rena erupt and make it a one-point game with under three minutes to play. The Golden Grizzlies grabbed its second lead of the game after Townsend stole one down low, worked it to Lampman who found a dashing Cole who converted on the fast break to make it 35-34, Oakland.
 
The Raiders grabbed a two-point lead as time was winding down, but Cole had the ball as the shot clock was expiring and hit a three from the logo to put Oakland up a point. The Raiders had one final chance to grab a lead going into halftime, but Oakland forced the turnover and went into the locker room up, 38-37.
 
Oakland shot a little better from the floor than Wright State as the Golden Grizzlies shot 15-of-29 (.517) from the field, with a handful of threes, as the Raiders were 15-of-32 (.469) with just a pair of makes from downtown. Oakland held the lead off the glass and grabbed two more boards than the Raiders with 18.
 
The Raiders came out as it scored the first nine points of the half to go ahead as it stayed ahead and built a lead. Wright State grabbed a double-digit lead three minutes into the frame and held pace as Oakland attempted to ease its deficit and get back into the game. Wright State grew its lead to 17 with a tick over nine minutes to go as it continued to keep up its pace and pile on.
 
The lead grew to as much as 20+ down the stretch as the nationally-ranked top 10 offense in Wright State kept up and made it difficult for an Oakland comeback. The Golden Grizzlies attempted to make a comeback, but Wright State always had an answer as Oakland went on to fall in its second to last game of the regular season, 96-75.
 
The Raiders struggled to miss in the second half as it shot at a .667 clip, and was 7-of-9 from three, as it shot 37-of-65 (.569) from the floor. The Golden Grizzlies totaled 27 makes from the field with nine three as it ended with an overall clip of .422. Off the glass, Wright State held the edge with 38 rebounds compared to Oakland's 34.
 
The Golden Grizzlies close out the 2023-24 regular season Saturday (March 2) against Detroit Mercy as it will honor its seniors for Senior Day, with tip-off set for 6:00 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.