INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - The Golden Grizzlies held on down the stretch as it defeated the Vikings, 74-71, tonight in the semifinal round of the 2024 Barbasol Horizon League Men's Basketball Championship inside the Indiana Farmers Coliseum.
 
With the win, the Golden Grizzlies advance to the championship game tomorrow (March 12) and will play for an automatic qualifying bid into the NCAA Tournament. This marks just the second time the Golden Grizzlies have made it to the championship game and look for its first Horizon League Tournament title as it fell in its sole appearance in 2021.
 
The Golden Grizzlies (22-11, 15-5 HL) saw a pair of players in the double digits for points as Jack Gohlke led the way with 21 points, all from range, as DQ Cole was right behind with 20 points of eight makes from the field. Trey Townsend nearly recorded a double-double as he tallied 15 points with a team-high eight rebounds.
 
The Vikings (20-14, 11-9 HL) were led by Tae Williams who recorded 21 points with 14 rebounds for a double-double, while Tristan Enaruna was behind with 14 points.
 
It was a strong defensive battle in the opening two minutes as the Vikings got the first points on the board at the 17:57 mark. The Golden Grizzlies were held scoreless for the opening 4:55 of play before Gohlke drilled a corner three to make it a 7-3 game. The Vikings kept pace slowly as it remained ahead in the opening minutes by single digits. The Golden Grizzlies eased the lead after Blake Lampman intercepted a ball and pushed it down to the other end, as Cole made his shot with a foul.
 
Now down just three, Oakland forced a tough missed shot as Cole came rushing down the floor, split the defense and laid one in to make it a one-point game. The Vikings kept up but Cole continued his tear as he made nine-straight points for Oakland. The Vikings regained its five-point lead, but one from deep by Gohlke, followed by a turnover and a Tone Hunter fastbreak two, the Golden Grizzlies knotted things up at 19 with 8:11 to play. Oakland grabbed its first lead of the game at 21 as Townsend drew the foul and sank both from the line.
 
The Vikings regained its lead with a make from deep but was short lived as Hunter grabbed one from the charity stripe. The Vikings hit two free throws for the lead but it was short lived once again as Cole drilled his 12th point of the game with a make from downtown for a lead. Play teetered back-and-forth as the Vikings got a two but was followed up by an off-balanced make from beyond the arch by Gohlke. The Vikings grabbed a pair at the end of the half to knot things up heading into the locker room at 38 apiece.
 
After the first 20, the Vikings held the edge from the floor as it shot at a .480 clip (16-of-33) while the Golden Grizzlies shot at a .380 clip (13-of-34). Oakland made two more threes than the Vikings with four, as it led off the glass with 21 total rebounds. Fourteen of Oaklands 38 points came off the bench where Cole led the Golden Grizzlies with 14 points off six shots from the floor.
 
The Vikings quickly went ahead on its opening possession, but Townsend and the Golden Grizzlies got it right back with an and-one from under the hoop. Cole followed it up with a defensive board and sped coast-to-coast for a two to extend the lead to three early. The Golden Grizzlies kept its offensive possession alive after an offensive board as Gohlke hit a contested three, his fourth of the night, to grow the Golden Grizzlies lead, 46-42.
 
Gohlke continued to be lethal from range as he followed up his last make with another off-balanced three, and put the Indiana Farmers Coliseum up in a roar as Oakland forced a turnover and drilled his sixth three of the night. It was Cole's turn from downtown as he drilled one from deep for the Golden Grizzlies fourth-straight three. Oakland remained ahead as Townsend muscled his way for a two to give the team an 11-point lead, but 10-straight from the Vikings made it a one-point game.
 
Chris Conway broke the Golden Grizzlies 3:40 scoring drought as he drew a foul and sank two from the line. Lampman added his first points in a big way as he nailed a three to give the Golden Grizzlies a little breathing room, up four. Gohlke answered Lampman with a three of his own and the lead grew to seven with 4:58 to play, but the Vikings answered and drew a foul off a deep shot and made the three.
 
The Vikings knotted things up at 69 after a make from three, but Townsend drew a blocking foul, as Oakland was in the bonus, where he retook the Golden Grizzlies lead with a pair from the line. The Golden Grizzlies locked down on the following Vikings possession as Conway intercepted a bad pass, as Townsend made one from the line to make it a three-point game with 1:06 to play.
 
The Vikings had the ball left with the shot clock turned off, down three with :25 seconds to go, as Tristan Enaruna from Cleveland State drove in and missed his contested shot. Gohlke came up with the board and fed it to Cole who was fouled with :07 left on the clock. Cole nearly put the game on ice as he made it a four-point game, but a foul on a Cleveland State three put the Vikings back in the game.
 
Cleveland State made the first two and tried to miss and grab the rebound, but the Golden Grizzlies came up with the board as Townsend was fouled with :01.8 seconds left. Townsend made his first as a late heave from the Vikings fell short and Oakland held on for the win, 74-71.
 
The Golden Grizzlies shot slightly better in the second half, at a .393 clip (11-of-28), as it shot 24-of-62 (.387) from the field and held the Vikings to shoot at a .333 clip (10-of-30). At a .413 clip, the Vikings tacked on one three in the second half while Oakland drilled six for a total of 10. Off the glass, Cleveland held a slight edge with 39 total boards compared to Oakland's 38.
 
The Golden Grizzlies now wait for its opponent in either no. 5 Northern Kentucky or no. 6 Milwaukee, the other two teams in the semifinals. The 2024 Barbasol Horizon League Men's Basketball Championship Game is set for tomorrow (March 12) inside the Indiana Farmers Coliseum, with tip-off set for 7:00 p.m. ET. Tomorrow's game will be streamed live on ESPN along with The Bet1270 AM (WXYT-AM) & the Audacy App with Neal Ruhl on the call.