ROCHESTER, Mich. - The Golden Grizzlies men's basketball team looks to stay atop the Horizon League standings and grab its fourth-straight win as it takes on Northern Kentucky Thursday (Feb. 8) inside the Truist Arena, with tip-off set for 7:00 p.m. ET.
 
The Golden Grizzlies (15-9, 10-3 HL) took care of business against Cleveland State, 83-71, at home on Saturday (Feb. 3) to grab its sixth-straight home win and have won nine of its last 10 games.
 
The Vikings hit one from three on its first possession of the game before Chris Conway added two points as the teams went on to trade baskets. The game went nearly two minutes without a score from either side before the Vikings brought the drought to an end as it held a three-point lead, 11-8, with 14:11 to play in the opening frame.
 
Tuburu Naivalurua ended the Golden Grizzlies scoring drought with a tough basket from under the hoop, as Blake Lampman secured the first lead for Oakland as he hit his first three of the game. Cleveland State quickly tied things up, but a make from Naivalurua was followed up by a Jack Gohlke hit from deep to put Oakland ahead, something it didn't give up for the remainder, 18-13. The Golden Grizzlies run turned to 9-0 after Rocket Watts and Trey Townsend got in on the action as the defense held strong and held the Vikings scoreless for 3:09.
 
The Vikings crept up on the Golden Grizzlies lead, as it pushed it to a one-point game, but the Golden Grizzlies flipped the script as it rang off 11-straight and held the Vikings scoreless for 3:40 of playing time. Conway made the nearly sell-out crowd erupt as he soared in the air and finished the alley-oop, courtesy of a Lampman lob from deep. Townsend grabbed the final bucket of the half with :03 second to play as Oakland held a 12-point lead after the first 20, 44-32.
 
Oakland grew its lead to 18 points in the second half but, once again, the Vikings threatened a comeback as the Golden Grizzlies lead shrank to 10 with under 9:00 to play. The Vikings continued to hang around as it put Oakland's lead to single digits for the first time since the 3:19 mark of the first half as it cut it to nine.
 
Gohlke brought the house down as he hit one from way beyond the three-point line to put Oakland up, 73-61, with 6:26 to play. Each team traded a bucket as Oakland held on to its 12-point lead as time was winding down before Lampman drove hard to the basket for two. Lampman added two more from the line for his 26th point of the game which matched his career best.
 
The Vikings resorted to intentional fouls early, as Watts knocked down a pair with 2:27 left to bumped the lead to 16. Six-straight from the Vikings closed the gap a bit and made it a 10-point game, but Watts made another pair from the stripe to put the game to rest. A missed three from the Vikings was the final effort for a comeback and the Golden Grizzlies won its sixth-straight game at home, 83-71.
 
Lampman once again led the Golden Grizzlies as he tied his career-high in points with 26, just two days after he tied it for the second time, as he hit eight shots from the floor. Lampman, who was named Horizon League Player of the Week, also slotted into the top-5 of the Golden Grizzlies record book in three-pointers made with a total of 254. Townsend nearly recorded a double-double, as he was 8-of-12 from the floor and brought down a team-high nine rebounds.
 
Oakland used its strong first half to take care of business, as both teams totaled 39 points in the second half, as Oakland shot 10-of-26 from the field to go 27-of-62 in total, while Cleveland State was 14-of-32 and 28-of-66 overall. The Golden Grizzlies totaled six from range while the Vikings tallied seven, as Oakland won the battle off the glass with 42 total rebounds compared to the Vikings 34. Oakland was a perfect 23-of-23 from the free throw line as 17 came in the second half. The 23-of-23 from the line marks the most free throws made in a game without a miss for the Golden Grizzlies.
 
SCOUTING THE NORSE
The Golden Grizzlies took down Northern Kentucky (11-12, 6-6 HL), 70-65, in overtime earlier this season (Jan. 10) inside the OU Credit Union O'rena. Since then, the Norse are an even 3-3 in league play and are on a three-game skid, with its last win against Green Bay (74-52) Jan. 20. In that span, the team has outscored its opponents, 72.17-71.67, but dropped its last game to Wright State, 85-78, to drop to t-7th place in the Horizon League standings. This season, the Norse are 8-3 at home while Oakland is an even 6-6 on the road.
 
In the Golden Grizzlies overtime win against Northern Kentucky, Townsend tallied a game-high 18 points as DQ Cole nearly recorded a double-double in the win with 17 points and eight boards. Conway matched Cole with eight of his own as Watts finished the night in double figures as he made four of his 10 points in overtime.
 
The first half of the matchup was back-and-forth between the two teams and the game saw four ties and three lead changes. Northern Kentucky went on an 8-0 run late to give itself a five-point lead, something it held on to going into the locker room. Northern Kentucky held on to its lead for the majority of the second half, and grew its lead to as much as 11, before land came roaring back.
 
Cole hit a three just over the five minute mark to give Oakland its first lead since the opening 20 before Northern Kentucky tied it with under a minute to go to send it into overtime. Oakland took care of business in the extra frame as Watts grabbed the first bucket and stayed ahead throughout. Cole added another clutch three to put the game on ice as Oakland went on to make its free throws and take the game, 70-65.
 
The Golden Grizzlies look to even the series against Northern Kentucky as the Norse are one of two Horizon League teams that have a winning record against Oakland. In 23 meetings, the Golden Grizzlies are 11-12 as it's 3-7 in the last 10 meetings. However, on the road, Oakland holds a 6-4 record inside the Truist Arena and got the win in Kentucky during the regular season last year (W, 64-63, 1/6/23).
 
The Norse are led by Marques Warrick who averages 19.0 points per game off 140-of-341 (.409) from the floor with 48 from range. The Golden Grizzlies held the leading scorer in its outing this season to 10 points as he shot 3-of-8 from the floor. Senior guard Trey Robinson leads the team off the glass with 6.1 rebounds per game and is third in points with 9.6, right behind the 13.3 per game from Sam Vinson.
 
The Norse hold a slight edge over its opponents as it scores 72.8 points per game to 72.2. The team shoots at a .451 clip from the field and holds its opposition to a .444 clip. With an average of 5.8 threes per game, the team allows nearly two more threes to its opponents with 7.6 per game. The team also loses on the battle of the glass as it grabs 1.3 less boards than the team it plays.
 
Tip-off from the Truist Arena is slated for 7:00 PM ET Thursday, Feb. 8.
 
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