Kahlil Felder (20) scored 32 points for the Golden Grizzlies in the Horizon League opener. Photo/ougrizzlies.com
[dropcap]E[/dropcap]ven prior to Oakland and Valparaiso being re-aligned into the same conference again, games between the two schools have been thrilling and narrowly decided. So it should have been no surprise that when the Golden Grizzlies pulled out to a massive lead in the first half on Friday night, the score meant next to nothing.
A game-tying 3-pointer by Valparaiso guard Keith Carter with 9.9 seconds to go in regulation took the contest into overtime, but the Golden Grizzlies dominated the additional period and grabbed an 89-75 victory in the opening night of Horizon League play.
“I made the decision not to switch that ball screen and give Carter that shot,” Oakland coachGreg Kampe said. “That was very costly to our team. Thank God they bailed me out in overtime.”
Oakland (5-10, 1-0) executed early to perfection, setting the tempo by getting Crusaders star forward Alec Peters into foul trouble immediately, and forward Dante Williams buried a 3-pointer to make it 17-4 less than six minutes into the contest. The hosts led by as many as 16 points in the opening half.
“We scripted the first five plays tonight to [Jalen Hayes] to get Peters in foul trouble,” Kampe said. “[Valparaiso coach] Bryce [Drew] has a history when players get two fouls of taking them out of the game, so that’s what we were trying to do, and [Hayes] accepted that challenge.”
The Crusaders’ backcourt got hot, though, making shots to cut the gap to five by halftime, and despite success by Oakland to push the ball inside to Hayes and senior center Corey Petros and get the lead back to double-digits, Keith Carter and Tevonn Walker helped will Valpo back into relevance.
“There’s no such thing as a five-point shot,” Walker said. “You have to break down the lead slowly and progressively, and take the best shots you can get.”
They did a majority of it without Peters, who entered the game averaging 19 points per game. The sophomore, who finished with seven points and 10 rebounds, picked up his fourth personal foul trying to collect his own miss on an easy put-back attempt with 10:43 remaining in the game. Still, he helped kick-start the stretch that was integral to pulling ahead. Peters, after sitting for several minutes got a basket with just over six minutes left in regulation, then collected a miss and an easy second-chance basket to give Valpo their first lead of the game. On the next possession, Tevonn Walker got out front on the break, made the hoop and was fouled by Williams, and his free throw gave the Crusaders (13-3, 0-1) a four-point lead.
Soon after, Carter hit back-to-back triples, and the Crusaders owned a seven-point lead with less than four minutes to play, but Oakland didn’t fold.
“They came back and took the lead by seven. If we’re a fraud, if we’re not a good team, we lose,” Kampe said. “And we talk about how we should have won. ‘Ah, we had a 16-point lead, Valpo’s good.’ If you’re a fraud, that’s what happens. We weren’t a fraud; we were a good basketball team.”
“And with freshman on the floor, and a sophomore point guard, and a couple of veteran seniors who refused to lose, we went from down seven and got the lead, and should have won in regulation.”
Nick Daniels was able to connect on a 3-pointer seconds later, and an offensive foul byVashil Fernandez allowed Oakland to shrink the lead back down to one after Williams curled and knocked down a triple with 3:14 left. Both teams traded scoring blows, as well as the lead, over the final several minutes, and Oakland point guard Kahlil Felder, under the basket, took it once again by dishing out to an open Daniels for another make from beyond the arc to grab a one-point lead with 49.1 seconds left.
Darien Walker missed a chance to give Valpo a one-point lead of their own, and Daniels split a pair at the line for Oakland to take the lead of three prior to the possession on which Carter’s shot knotted it up at 71. Felder missed an opportunity at the buzzer from the wing to escape the idea of overtime, but the Golden Grizzlies would prevail anyhow.
The Golden Grizzlies again started a period strong, but this time they finished just as crisp. They were boosted early by an easy layup and a weak-side offensive board and put-back by Hayes to give Oakland a three-point lead with 2:22 on the clock in OT, and their lead would only grow from there. Felder made a left-handed running floater, and his nine makes alone at the line were good for 11 of Oakland’s 18 points in overtime. He finished with a career-high 32 points overall, and turned the ball over just twice. He also shattered the single-game school and Horizon League record with 24 free-throw attempts.
“It was fun [battling Carter],” Felder said. “It was one of those types of games where another point guard is the leader on their team, you know, he’s the one that makes them go. He was talking smack, and I was just listening, just making sure we get the W.”
Carter finished with 18 points, and Tevonn Walker had a team-high 22 points on 8 of 13 shots from the floor. Darien Walker had 10 points, but missed all of his seven three-point attempts.
Williams, responsible for three of Oakland’s triples, finished with 11 points, and provided a solid effort to keep Peters in check, epitomized by a block on him from behind in overtime.
“That could be the best defensive performance of the year in our league,” Kampe said. “Through the next 16 games, I don’t know if anybody’s going to guard that kid like that.”
Hayes equaled his career-high with 16 points and surpassed a previous-high by pulling down eight rebounds. Daniels had 14, along with a team-high three steals. Petros paced the Golden Grizzlies’ rebounding effort with 12, his most this season.
The Golden Grizzlies travel to take on Cleveland State next Thursday night at 7:30 ET, and can be watched on ESPN3.
NOTES: Attendance for the game was 2,873, the most for a game at the O’rena so far in 2014-15…Petros, who entered tonight tied, shattered Will Hudson’s (2007-11) offensive rebounds record of 345 with three…Hernandez, who entered the game leading the conference with 3.26 blocks per game, didn’t have one against Oakland.
*Report from Press Row Sports.
