Oakland’s men, women notch big Horizon League wins
Don’t look now, four weeks into the Horizon League basketball season, Oakland University is on top or near the top in both the men’s and women’s standings.
Oakland’s men’s team is the lone remaining unbeaten team as the Golden Grizzlies went into previously unbeaten Cleveland State’s gym on Thursday and came away with a hard-fought 70-65 win. As a result, Oakland (12-4 overall) is 6-0 in league play, just ahead of both Cleveland State and Wright State at 6-1.
Meanwhile, the Oakland women’s team sits alone in second place following a 61-52 win at home over Wright State on Thursday. Oakland (7-7 overall) improved to 5-2 in league play, trailing only Youngstown State at 8-0.
In the league’s marquee matchup on Thursday,
Oakland’s Trey Townsend led the offensive attack with 20 points on 10 field goals, while Jalen Moore filled up the stat sheet with 14 points, eight assists and six rebounds. In addition, Blake Lampman hit four triples.
Oakland’s Jamal Cain was held to just six points after being in foul trouble all game and fouling out with just over four minutes to play.
For Cleveland State, D’Moi Hodge tied for a game-high with 20 on four 3-pointers and Torrey Patton finished with a doubledouble with 16 points and 11 rebounds to go along with seven assists. Yahel Hill added 10 points all in the second half and Deante Johnson registered 14 boards and nine points.
In a game where neither team led by more than seven points, the difference may have been at the free-throw line. Oakland finished 13-for-16 from the charity stripe, including Moore going 5-for-6 in the final 30 seconds, while Cleveland State hit just 4-of-12 from the line.
In the women’s game Thursday, the Golden Grizzlies used a 36-24 run in the course of the middle two quarters to establish control,
Breanne Beatty led the Golden Grizzlies with a game-high 16 points. Kayla Luchenbach added 14 points for Oakland while Kendall Folley added 10 points and Sydney Gouard collected 11 rebounds.
Deesh Beck and Destyne Jackson scored 12 points each to lead the Raiders while Jada Wright pulled down 10 rebounds.
Oakland returns to the court on Saturday as the women play host to Northern Kentucky at 2 p.m. Northern (4-2 in league play) is just a half-game behind Oakland in the standings. The men’s team will travel to Purdue-Fort Wayne for a 1 p.m. tip on Saturday.