Takeaways from the Oakland’s road win over in-state rival Detroit Mercy

Oakland had an excellent 1st half defensively and held on to beat Detroit Mercy for their seventh conference victory for the season.

Prior to the game, both teams had a top-four scorer not dressed for the game as Blake Lampman did not dress for Oakland and Jayden Stone for Detroit Mercy. However, this game had all the makings for a classic match between these two rivals which is nicknamed the Metro Series.

Trey Townsend, Rocket Watts, and Moore lead Oakland offensively in the first half

Townsend had eight points on three for four shooting and sat on the bench for an extended period of time due to picking up two early fouls. Watts had ten points and four rebounds and Moore had nine points, five assists, and four rebounds. The three combined for 27 of Oakland’s 38 first-half points and helped the Golden Grizzlies to a 38 to 25 halftime lead. The Golden Grizzlies also shot 44.8% from the field on 13 of 29 shots and only had two turnovers going into the half.

Detroit Mercy struggled offensively in the first half

Antonine Davis was held to only eight points on two-for-seven shooting and Gerald Liddell was held scoreless going zero for four from the field. As a team, the Titans shot only 33.3% from the field and 25% from beyond the three-point arch. Detroit Mercy only had two free throw attempts and four offensive rebounds heading into halftime. The only real bright spots offensively for the Titans were Demaezi Anderson who had eight early points on four for eight shooting and A.J. Oliver who was three for six from the field with seven points.

Jalen Moore played well once gain

Moore has played well in his two previous games scoring 20 and 27 points as well as having seven assists in both games. After scoring nine first-half points, Moore scored 11 points with just over seven minutes remaining in the second half. He made some clutch free throws down the stretch to extend the Golden Grizzlies’ lead to 10 with just over a minute remaining in the game. Moore was the games leading scorer with 32 points, seven assists, five rebounds, and three steals. He also made 14 of his 16 free throw attempts.

Oliver and Anderson had a great second half offensively for the Titans

He had 11 points within seven minutes of the first half making an impressive three long shots beyond the arc to help the Titans get within a distance of the Golden Grizzlies who had a 13-point halftime lead. At around the 13-minute mark in the second half, Anderson first made a layup, then back to back to back, threes for a quick 11 second-half points by the 10-minute mark. For the game, Oliver finished with 18 points and nine rebounds and Anderson ended the game with 22 points, six rebounds, and two assists.

Antoine Davis and Gerald Liddell were limited offensively tonight

Davis entered this game scoring 41 and 42 points in his last two games and his having a great second half offensively tonight was expected by the home crowd in Calihan Hall but the Golden Grizzlies’ game plan limited him on the offensive end. Davis had eight points at halftime and more surprisingly had only two second-half points with just under four minutes remaining in the game.

Liddell who entered this game as the Titan’s second-leading scorer averaging just over 17 points a game, was held scoreless in the first half and did not get his first points of the game until just under five minutes left in the game. Davis ended the game with 14 points and eight assists and Liddell finished with seven points and five rebounds.

Oakland with the win goes to 7-3 in the Horizon League standings in a three-way tie for third place with Youngstown State and Cleveland State. The Golden Grizzlies next play at Youngstown State on Friday. Detroit Mercy with the loss falls to 4-6 and they also go on the road to face off against Robert Morris on Friday as well.