The Golden Grizzlies opened the Horizon League Championships with an 80-59 victory over Cleveland State on Tuesday night at the O’Rena.
ROCHESTER, Michigan – Oakland University men’s basketball opened the Horizon League Championship on Tuesday, March 3, with an 80-59 win in the O’Rena. Senior forward Xavier Hill-Mais tallied his fifth double-double in six games to lead the Golden Grizzlies with 26 points and 12 rebounds.
Oakland has won its opening game in the league tournament for the third-straight year. The Golden Grizzlies are 4-6 in the Horizon League Championship since joining the league and move to 15-8 all-time as the higher seed in conference tournaments.
Four Golden Grizzlies finished with 10 or more points – all four in the starting lineup. Sophomore guard Tray Maddox Jr. finished with 17 after having a game-high 14 points at the break. Maddox Jr. tied his career high with four made three-pointers. The Novi native had a game-high five assists.
Sophomore forward Daniel Oladapo continued his strong play down the stretch of the season, going for 19 points in 28 minutes. The last time Oladapo had 19 or more was on November 10 against Southern Illinois – he finished with 23 that effort. Oladapo was 7-of-9 from the floor against the Vikings.
Sophomore guard Rashad Williams finished with a trio of triples – totaling 14 points in the game. Junior guard Kevin Kangu made his 17th start of the season. Kangu – who leads Oakland with 3.4 assists per game – dished out four helpers, benefiting Oladapo on a couple of savvy reads.
Off the bench, sophomore Babatunde Sowunmi grabbed a career-high nine rebounds, his most minutes since January 3 against Wright State.
Oakland held Cleveland State to just 39-percent from the floor and 18-percent from behind the arc.
Algevon Eichelberger led the Vikings with 17 points. Torrey Patton had a game-high 13 boards.
Williams put the Golden Grizzlies up 20, 55-35, finishing in transition through the contact and knocking down the free throw to follow.
The Vikings missed their first five shot attempts out of the second half, allowing the Oakland lead to reach 17 points, 50-33, with 16:37 to play. The Golden Grizzlies went 4-of-5 from the floor heading into the media timeout.
Oakland took a 15-point lead into the break, 41-26. Nine of Maddox Jr.’s 14 points in the opening frame came from range. The Golden Grizzlies combined for six triples in the first 20 minutes – Oakland has had 15 games this season coming into the matchup with six or less three’s for the whole outing.
Oladapo spun in the paint and got three the old-fashioned way to give the Golden Grizzlies their first double-digit lead of the game, 29-18.
Oakland broke the game open past a one-possession affair nine minutes into the contest, 18-14, with a triple from Hill-Mais. The First-Team All-League selection has knocked down a three-pointer in five of the last seven games. The Golden Grizzlies scored on five-straight possessions to engineer the 9-0 run.
Oladapo was active early, scoring a pair of buckets and recording two steals by the first media timeout of the game.
Oakland advances to the second round of the Horizon League Championship to take on Green Bay on Thursday, March 5, in Green Bay. The Phoenix earned a first-round bye, finishing as the three seed.
Notes
- The last time Oakland did not convert a shot from behind the arc was on Jan. 30, 1988 vs. Wayne State University. The Golden Grizzlies have hit a three-ball in 1,002-consecutive games, which is the fifth-longest streak in the NCAA.
- Kevin Kangu made his 17th start of the season and first since January 16 at Green Bay.
- Rashad Williams has knocked down multiple three-pointers in every outing – setting a career high first with seven against Detroit on Jan. 31 and eight at NKU on Feb. 6. The Detroit native ranks second all-time in Cleveland State single-season history with 91 three-pointers a year ago. Williams has 59 in his 14 games this season.
- Xavier Hill-Mais finished with 26 points – marking his 28th-straight outing with double-digit points and 31st this season. Hill-Mais has five double-doubles in the last six games.
- Tray Maddox Jr. tied his career-high with four triples in the contest. He has scored in double-figures in six of the last eight games.
- Daniel Oladapo had his highest tally since Nov. 10 against Southern Illinois, finishing Tuesday’s game with 19 points – going 7-of-9 from the floor.
- Oakland is 4-6 in the Horizon League Championship since joining the league and 18-15 all-time in Division I league tournaments. The Golden Grizzlies are 15-8 all-time as the higher seed in conference tournaments.
- Oakland has won six of its last seven games.
- The 21 point victory is Oakland’s second-largest of the season – the Golden Grizzlies opened the season with a 28-point win over Goshen. Oakland has seven double-digit victories this season.
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