ROCHESTER HILLS, Mich. — Call it reaping the benefits of time in the system. Call it ‘trial by crucible’ in the early weeks of the season. Or, if you want to be more simplistic, just state the obvious: it pays to have a coach with four decades of experience who’s seen it all and isn’t afraid of going against the grain.
Whatever you choose to call it, on Wednesday night at the O’Rena, it led to another critical win for the Oakland Golden Grizzlies against a Horizon League contender. This time, it was a 76-72 victory over Purdue Fort Wayne, who came into the matchup on a four-game winning streak and undefeated in regulation in their last six.
The Grizzlies starting five didn’t deviate from what’s looked like for much of the new year. Mukeba, Buru, DQ, Isaiah Jones, and Jack Hoth would get the call at tipoff, but Hoth’s development continues to come with its headaches. In his four appearances of the season thus far, Jack is shooting 14% from the field (3-21), and his slight frame comes with liabilities on the defensive end of the court. The story of Hoth’s career at Oakland is far from written, but in a pivotal game against the Mastodons, he would record only 3 minutes and change worth of playing time – getting pulled early in the first half and never returning to action.
This wasn’t the only adversity the Grizzlies would have to overcome to win this ballgame. Around the same time Hoth was benched in the opening half, Allen Mukeba picked up his second personal foul of the game. Unquestionably the team’s premier weapon on both sides of the ball, Greg Kampe was faced with a decision less than five minutes in – to bench his veteran leader or to trust the experienced center in his role as both bulwark and board monster to help weather the early storm?
Unorthodox to some – but unsurprising coming from a coach of Kampe’s stature, he opted for the latter.
“I’ve never been a guy to not play you with two fouls in the first half,” Coach Kampe stated at the postgame press conference.
“In the Eastern Michigan game, he didn’t know how to play with fouls. I didn’t punish him for that and not play him – I made him learn how to play through it, and that’s always been my philosophy. There are a lot of coaches that, once you get two, you don’t play the rest of the half. I just – we’ve never been deep enough to do that. So that’s probably been the reason why.”
The gambit paid off. Mukeba would accrue only one more foul the rest of the game. He played 35 minutes and tied for the most points scored on the evening with 22. It would also lead to his third double-double of the season and, by far, his best performance out of the three.
Despite falling behind by as many as 7 points midway through the first half, OU found their scoring rhythm as the period progressed. The first ingredient was one fans have come to love – Malcolm Christie airing it out from deep. The senior from New Brunswick led the Grizzlies in scoring at halftime, shooting 3-5 from behind the arc for 9 points. But it was the performance Oakland delivered on defense in the first 20 minutes that set them up to pull away coming out of the half.
The Mastodons shoot the 3-ball as well as any mid-major in the country (they’re currently ranked sixth nationally), and against OU, they came out red hot – nailing 7-8 to start the game. That’s usually not a recipe that gets you a tied ballgame halfway through, but the mandate of success for this Grizzlies team remains their zone defense. Purdue Fort Wayne would end the period 7-10 from three-point range (or 7-9 if, like Kampe, you don’t count desperation heaves at the buzzer), but the Mastodons would only go 3-21 from the restricted area and 3-3 at the free throw line.
To hold any team that kind of shooting production for a half is a feat unto itself, but to do it against the second-place team in your conference in a game you badly need to win is a testament to taking your lumps early and learning the ins and outs of the Oakland system.
“As you play more games, you get better – which is also why playing the schedule we play(ed) makes us better now,” Kampe offered while discussing his players developing in his zone scheme.
“If we played a crappy schedule – the teams that we beat, no matter how we defended, we would win. But when you’re playing Michigan State and Arkansas, and all the great teams we played – they’re going to take advantage of everything. So you learn, and you see on film, and you grow, and you get better. What are they trying to do? How are they trying to get their shots? We’ve prepared you for that now. Don’t react to it – take it away.”
One player who is certainly learning Oakland’s brand of basketball is freshman Nassim Mashhour. The Dearborn native continues to see his playing time increase in the second half of the season despite averaging less than two shot attempts per outing. But what the first-year prospect lacks in realized scoring talent and ball handles, he makes up for in tenacity and unselfishness. Mashhour is as likely as any guard on the court to run a screen, identify one of his big veterans primed to score in the post, or – as he did on Wednesday, put his body in position to force a turnover or block a shot that could decide the game.
With just under a minute remaining and the Grizzlies holding on to a 68-67 lead, it was Mashhour who utilized his length to make a pivotal block on a layup attempt by the Mastodons’ Chandler Cuthrell. OU would score a layup of their own on the following possession (via Mukeba). Purdue Fort Wayne would miss from three-point range on the ensuing attempt, forcing them into the foul game with under thirty seconds remaining.
Oh, and if you like dunks, Naivalurua has got you covered. In his best scoring performance of the season (22 points), Buru would go 10-12 from the field, including four dunks – two of which came in the closing moments of each half. The latter got the attention of the media, as Buru showed some wide receiver-esque running lane awareness on the play. When asked if he had ever played the position in high school, the senior from Sydney, AU found himself wondering what might have been.
“Maybe I should have. Maybe I should have a career change right now.”
Of course, his coach was quick with a rebuttal.
“You’re going to make a lot more money playing this sport.” Kampe offered in good humor.
Final: Oakland 76, Purdue Fort Wayne 72
