GEORGE TOWN, Cayman Islands – The Golden Grizzlies men’s basketball utilized its halftime lead to take care of business against LMU, 74-69, today at the Cayman Islands Classic inside the John Gray Gymnasium.
 
The Golden Grizzlies (2-3, 0-0 HL) saw two players tied for a team-high in points (18) as Trey Townsend and Jack Gohlke recorded double-digit points. From the floor, Townsend was 6-of-14 with three balls from range as Gohlke tallied five field goals and tacked on three from the line. Rocket Watts also found himself with double-figures and went 5-of-12 for 13 points on the day. Townsend continues to lead the team in boards as he brought down a game-high eight.
 
The Lions (2-3, 0-0 WCC) were led by Will Johnston who netted 22 points (6-of-10) off the bench and tacked on four threes. Center Lars Thiemann led the Lions on the glass with seven boards.
 
The Golden Grizzlies came out hot from beyond the arc as Townsend made the first shot of the game, good for 1,100 consecutive games that Oakland has made at least one three-pointer. Townsend came right back for a step back J from deep, followed by a Watts make from range for a speedy 9-2 lead.
 
Threes were made from each side early as the Lions hit from deep but Jack Gohlke answered. Oakland extended its lead to nearly double digits with help from Isaiah Jones who picked off a pass and led Watts to a fast break lay in. The Lions roared back, however, and made it a two-point game after seven straight, but Townsend halted the run in its tracks with a jumper from the wing.
 
LMU took a two-point lead with under seven to play, but a clutch layup from Watts knotted things up at 26 apiece. Tough defense from LMU forced the Golden Grizzlies to take difficult shots but Oakland hung around in the opening half and kept the game at bay with a slight deficit. Three makes from Gohlke from the charity stripe cut the teams deficit down to two with just over four minutes to go, but a Lions floating jumper pushed it up to four.
 
The Golden Grizzlies were not out though as Townsend netted a pair of free throws and back-to-back threes from Gohlke and Townsend reversed the score and put Oakland up by four. The Golden Grizzlies kept its foot on the pedal to take a 41-35 lead, and DQ Cole disrupted the passing lane for a steal with :19 seconds to go. With the shot clock turned off, the Golden Grizzlies drew up a play which put the ball in the hands of Isaiah Jones who sank the three at the buzzer for the halftime lead, 44-35.
 
The Golden Grizzlies ended the first half on a 15-2 run in the final four minutes of play to lead by nine. Townsend headed into the locker room with a game-high 13 points and was 4-of-7 from the floor with three balls from deep. Watts and Gohlke followed suit with nine points each as Watts sank four of five from the field with one three. As a whole, the Golden Grizzlies were lights out from the field and shot 57.7% (15-of-26) and made 7-of-13 from range. The Lions, who outrebounded the Golden Grizzlies 17-14, struggled from deep at a 27.8% clip and shot 41.9% (13-of-31) from the floor.
 
The Golden Grizzlies carried its momentum from the locker room and stayed hot with a 10-3, which included seven-straight points capped by a Jones slam, for its largest lead of the game. Oakland built off its lead and tacked on four more points from Chris Conway to up the score to 58-38.
 
LMU attempted to cut its deficit and get back into the game with a 10-2 run, but a hard drive from Conway put the Golden Grizzlies lead back up to 14 with 10:45 to play. The Lions narrowly cut the Golden Grizzlies lead to single digits, but Oakland seemed to have the answers, highlighted by a string of moves in the paint from Tone Hunter and went up and in.
 
With under 6:00 to go, stout defense was played on both ends and 1:30 went by with no scores. Now a 10-point game, Gohlke marched down the floor and did what he does best and sank one from downtown to make it 67-54.
 
In the bonus with 5:00 left to play, the Lions finally cut its deficit to single digits for the first time since the opening half. The Golden Grizzlies lead dwindled down to seven and the Lions put itself back into the game, but a big shot from Gohlke as the shot clock rang made it 70-60 with 2:01 to go.
 
A technical, followed by an and-one, gave the Lions what it needed to cut the game to 70-67 with under a minute to play. A pair of free throws from the Lions cut it to 70-69, but a clutch bucket from Townsend in the paint put it back up to three. The Lions drove down the floor to try and cut it back to one, but a turnover put the ball in the hands of the Golden Grizzlies where Watts sank two free throws for a 74-69 lead.
 
One last chance effort from the Lions from beyond the arc didn’t go through as the Golden Grizzlies survived, 74-69.
 
The Golden Grizzlies shooting took a toll in the second half and were 10-of-33 from the floor with three from downtown to finish at a 42.4% clip. Along with Oakland, LMU also saw a dip in percentage as it went down to 36.4% for a game total of 39.6%. The Golden Grizzlies were good from range and made 10-of-22 tries (.455) and outrebounded the Lions 37-33 and grabbed two more offensive boards than LMU.
 
The Golden Grizzlies continue the Cayman Islands Classic and will face the winner of Marshall versus FIU tomorrow (Nov. 21) at 1:30 p.m. ET in its final game of the tournament. Tomorrow’s game will be livestreamed on FloHoops.