#HLMBB Scoreboard (Jan. 11)
Oakland 77, Detroit 69
DETROIT – It was worth the 3,692-day wait. Previously separated by what felt like the longest 26 miles in Michigan, Detroit and Oakland resumed men’s basketball competition in a classic, with the Golden Grizzlies staging a dramatic comeback to snare a 77-69 win before 6,976 at Calihan Hall.
In the teams’ first meeting as Horizon League foes, Oakland (6-12, 2-2 Horizon) staged a 29-10 closing run, stunning Detroit (8-10, 1-2 Horizon) on its homecoming after trailing, 59-48, with 7:53 remaining.
Travis Bader capped the comeback, knocking down a 3-pointer from the left wing after Dante Williams secured an offensive rebound. The 3-pointer was Bader’s fourth of the night and gave Oakland a 71-68 lead with 1:40 to play.
Before that, Oakland had not led since 8:02 remained in the first half.
Up until the under-8 minute media timeout, the Titans’ bench had outscored its counterparts from Oakland, 24-2. But during the run, it was one of the Golden Grizzlies’ bench players, Dante Williams that sparked the burst.
Williams got the run started innocently enough knocking down a 3-pointer in the right corner to cut the gap to eight. But it was path to the basket intentional foul that sliced the deficit dramatically. Williams hit both intentional foul shots before Bader knocked down a triple to draw the Golden Grizzlies within 61-58 with 6:13 to play.
Kahlil Felder would cap the run with a conventional 3-point play, tying the game with 5:52 to play and sending the Oakland crowd into a frenzy in the corners of Calihan Hall.
Detroit would respond behind Evan Bruinsma, who converted a 3-point play of his own to restore the Titans’ lead, 66-63.
Two Felder free throws and a jumper by Juwan Howard, Jr. made it 68-65, but Duke Mondy would spoil a Detroit 2-on-1 opportunity, then convert a transition 3-pointer to knot the game with 2:31 remaining.
After Ugochukwe Njoku missed a jumper down low, the stage was set for the thrilling finish.
Trailing 33-25 at the half, the Golden Grizzlies would feed Corey Petros consistently to open the second half, drawing within a single possession on two separate occasions.
However, Detroit countered both times, the first coming on a Matthew Grant 3-pointer to push the lead to 42-36, and the second on a Juwan Howard, Jr. 16-footer to give the Titans a five-point edge.
Anton Wilson would kickstart a 9-2 Titan burst shortly thereafter, drilling a triple from the top of the key after a media timeout. Detroit would cap the run with an Ugochukwu Njoku jumper to assume its largest lead of the day, 59-47.
Petros led the way for Oakland with 23 points and 13 rebounds, while Mondy added 18 points – 15 in the second half. Bader added 14 and is now 15 shy of matching J.J. Redick’s career 3-point record after knocking down four.
Felder finished with 12 points and six assists.
Howard, Jr. had 15 to lead Detroit, while Bruinsma added 14. Grant led the way for Detroit’s bench with 12 points. On the night, the Titans’ bench outscored their counterparts from Oakland, 25-7.
Oakland and Detroit had not played since Dec. 3, 2003, with the Titans holding an 11-1 advantage in the series heading into tonight’s game.
Detroit will remain at home for its next Horizon League game, welcoming Valparaiso (9-9, 1-2 Horizon) to Calihan Hall on Wednesday, Jan. 15, at 7 p.m. ET. Oakland will make the drive to Cleveland State (10-8, 2-1 Horizon) for 5:30 p.m. ET tip against the Vikings on Thursday, Jan. 16.
