ROCHESTER, Mich. - A strong second-half effort lifted the Golden Grizzlies over the Green Bay Phoenix here tonight in a 68-54 win from inside the OU Credit Union O'Rena.

DQ Cole led the way for the Golden Grizzlies (10-13, 7-5 HL), scoring 18 points, while Allen Mukeba also came up big for Oakland, contributing 16 points and eight rebounds. Additionally, Buru Naivalurua recorded a double-double with 10 points and 13 boards.

The Phoenix (2-21, 0-12 HL) were led by Foster Wonders, who chipped in a team-best 16 points. Green Bay's Yonatan Levy also had a solid showing, putting up six points, six rebounds and three steals.

Cole started things for the Golden Grizzlies, burying a fadeaway mid-range jumper on Oakland's first possession. Levy responded on the following possession for the Phoenix, banking in a layup to get Green Bay on the scoreboard.

With the first underway, neither the Golden Grizzlies nor the Phoenix could pull ahead early. Oakland's offense relied on Cole and Mukeba, while Green Bay turned to Ryan Wade to provide the scoring early.

Halfway through the first, the game remained close, with the Golden Grizzlies in the lead 16-14. Oakland was lifted to the lead thanks to Malcolm Christie and Cooper Craggs, who each hit three-pointers on back-to-back possessions. 

As the first continued, the Golden Grizzlies had some time to dance around with the lead. Although the Oakland lead never got out of hand for the Phoenix, momentum slowly shifted to Oakland's side with massive defensive plays from Cole and a superhero dunk from Naivalurua.

Down the stretch, the Phoenix started to mount pressure on both sides of the ball, ultimately taking the lead with a minute to go. Cole responded with a three to give Oakland the lead back, but Levy knocked down a short-range jumper as time expired, tying the game 29-29.

At the half, the Golden Grizzlies held a 24-9 rebound advantage over the Phoenix. However, Green Bay was more efficient in the first, shooting at a .455 clip (10-for-22) from the field and .364 (4-for-11) from three. In comparison, the Golden Grizzlies shot at a .387 rate (12-for-31) from the floor and .214 (3-for-14) from range.

Mukeba brought the hammer down to start the second half with a one-handed slam dunk on Oakland's first possession. On the Golden Grizzlies' next possession, Mukeba followed up with yet another dunk, getting the fans on their feet.

With Oakland off to the races, the same could not be said about Green Bay. Through the first seven minutes of the second, the stifling Oakland defense held the Phoenix to a single free throw make, allowing the Golden Grizzlies to build their first double-digit lead of the game.

At the midway point of the second, the Oakland lead had expanded to 51-36 as Christie and Nassim Mashhour started to heat up from beyond the arc, combining for three three-pointers in the span of three minutes. 

With all of the momentum on their side, the Golden Grizzlies rode their lead all the way to the final buzzer, giving Oakland their seventh conference win of the season and their first win over Green Bay this season.

At the end of the game, Oakland kept their rebounding advantage, 46-22. The Golden Grizzlies had a much better half from the field, shooting at a .414 clip (12-for-29) as a team and .333 (5-for-15) from deep. For the Phoenix, they ended the half shooting at a .292 rate (7-for-24) from the field while converting .292 (4-for-14) of their shots from beyond the arc.

Up next, the Golden Grizzlies will host the Northern Kentucky Norse on Saturday, Feb. 1. Tip-off is slated for 4 p.m. ET, and the game will be live streamed on ESPN+. All Oakland games this season will be live streamed through audio via 97.1HD-3, The Bet1270 AM (WXYT-AM) & the Audacy App with Neal Ruhl on the call.