Jalen Hayes at the free throw line with the game tied at 68. Photo/HLN
[dropcap]A[/dropcap]ble to overcome a slow start offensively, Oakland couldn’t contain Valparaiso on Sunday afternoon, falling 82-76 to the Crusaders at the ARC.
In a crucial segment with both teams tied at 68 as 4:25 remained, Oakland freshman forward Jalen Hayes missed the front end of a 1-and-1 free-throw opportunity. Crusaders guard Darien Walker was able to shake Nick Daniels on the other end, and caught Corey Petrosout of position in what turned out to be a converted old-fashioned three-point play. After Kahlil Felder and Vashil Fernandez traded buckets following, Petros also missed the his first free throw with Oakland in the bonus.
The lost points at the line for the Golden Grizzlies were a big part of the difference down the stretch for Oakland coach Greg Kampe.
“The key to the game was that we missed our free throws,” Kampe said via a post-game interview on the team’s website. “We missed two front ends of 1-and-1’s, we split a 1-and-1 in crunch time.”
Despite that, the Golden Grizzlies had plenty of chances in the final moments, greatly thanks to Felder, who scored his team’s final eight points. Oakland had a pair of three-point attempts by Dante Williams and Daniels that could have closed the gap back to one point, but Alec Peters doubled the Crusaders’ lead to six after a 3-pointer with 2:27 remaining following Petros’ miss at the stripe.
“Dante completely shuts Peters down, and then late in the game Peters ends up in the corner with the ball, all by himself, and he buries is,” Kampe said. “A championship play by a great player.”
“I’m disappointed that we didn’t make the plays we needed to make, but we’re on our way to something special here. I love this team. I loved our fight, and I’m not upset at all. I loved our fight.”
The Golden Grizzlies (12-13, 7-3 Horizon League) fell in a 16-4 hole coming out of the gate — not always a definitive barometer when these two programs meet — struggling to score against the stout back line of Valpo that includes the conference’s best shot-blocker in Fernandez. Similar to the meeting with the Crusaders earlier this season, which resulted in an overtime victory by Oakland, Daniels (14 points) provided a much-needed spark to stretch the defense of the hosts. The freshman guard connected on a trio of 3-pointers midway through the first half, helping bring the Golden Grizzlies eventually to within six points by halftime.
Daniels also had opened the second half with a triple from beyond the arc, but it was a somewhat unexpected contribution that kept Oakland’s offense moving in the second half. Hayes, who had taken just three 3-pointers all year and had yet to make one, spotted up and changed that with his first to give the Golden Grizzlies the lead for the first time with 16:57 left in the second half. He didn’t settle there, keeping the visitors ahead again with two more nearly identical makes within the following seven minutes. Hayes finished with a game-high 21 points.
All five starters for Valpo finished in double figures, including a team-high 16 points from junior guard Victor Nickerson. David Skara also chipped in 14 off the bench for the Crusaders, (22-4, 9-2) who shot 58 percent from the field.
Petros, who became the third active NCAA player with 1,000 points and rebounds each in Sunday’s game, had 16 points and 11 rebounds for Oakland. Felder had 20 points and contributed seven assists.
Oakland wrap up a four-game road trip on Tuesday at Milwaukee. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. ET, available to stream via WatchESPN.
