Oakland forward Dante Williams (2) goes for the bucket in Saturday’s 94-87exhibition victory over Ferris State. Photo/Dylan Dulberg
[dropcap]I[/dropcap]t took a while for Oakland to feed its biggest bears Saturday afternoon, but when they did, the Golden Grizzlies ate away the deficit and stockpiled a lead.
Despite falling to a 15-point deficit in the first half, Oakland produced a better final 20 minutes and defeated Ferris State, 94-87, in a home exhibition opener.
Two made free throws by senior forward Corey Petros seemed to be as good an omen as any for Oakland to begin the season, but any good fortune soon evaporated as the Bulldogs made 11 of their first 17 shots and built a lead that reached as much as over a dozen in the first 10 minutes.
The Golden Grizzlies had a number of timely 3-pointers to keep Ferris State’s runs from getting unmanageable again in the first half. Newcomer guard Max Hooper and Dante Williams hit back-to-back triples and shrunk the deficit to five late in the half. Oakland looked to have it trimmed to just two after Felder converted his and-1 opportunity, but Dietrich Levergot a bucket as time expired to leave it 46-42 in favor of the Bulldogs heading into the lockers.
“I think it was just first-game jitters,” Petros said. “We didn’t do the little things right, which led to open shots. In the second half, we were mad, I think. We didn’t want to lose, we wanted to win. We took over, and that’s what we needed to do.”
Production from forward Tommie McCune and the involvement of Petros in the second half signaled a dramatic turnaround for Oakland. Oakland’s senior big man contributed 10 points and six rebounds in the first 10 minutes of the second half, a span in which the Golden Grizzlies erased the two-possession deficit deficit and took an eight-point lead.
It started just outside the 14-minute mark when Hooper’s 3-pointer cut the Ferris lead to one, and Petros drew a foul on the next possession. The senior would make his first, and McCune cleaned up the ensuing miss for the home team’s first lead of the game. Less than a minute later, McCune was the beneficiary of a fast break and got a chance for the old-fashioned 3-pointer. This time, Petros took his turn grabbing the miss, laying it in and providing the Golden Grizzlies with a lead of six.
Oakland would maintain and stretch the lead to double digits for the first time in the game with just under five minutes remaining. Ralph Hill connected with a triple, then forced a turnover and fed to Kahlil Felder to balloon the lead to 11.
Felder struggled to find a rhythm early, but the sophomore point guard finished with a solid line of 26 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. Petros notched a double-double with 22 points and 10 boards, while Hooper and McCune had 13 points each.
Ferris got 3-pointers from Josh Fleming and Drew Lehman (26 points) in the last several minutes, but were unable to close the lead back to anything slimmer than four points.
Jared Stolicker fouled out in the final seconds attempting to stop Felder from getting to the hoop, but the 6-foot-10 forward finished with 18 points and 11 rebounds.
The Golden Grizzlies play their next exhibition game, also at the O’rena, on Friday against St. Xavier.
Visit Press Row Sports for video of the post-game press conference.
