OU Grabs Program-Affirming Upset Victory Over Tennessee

Last December, surprised the nation with an upset of No. 7-ranked Tennessee on the road.

At the time, the win served as a memo to the college basketball world that the Golden Grizzlies had arrived and should forever be taken seriously.

On Monday, nearly a year later, Oakland put a golden exclamation point on that memo and spread the word again with a dominating performance against the Volunteers in a rematch at the O'rena.

The Grizzlies never trailed in the game and wound up defeating Tennessee, 89-81, to cement their place among the elite mid-major college basketball programs in the country.

The upset was televised by ESPN, making it the first nationally broadcasted home game in program history.

"This wasn't about our team, or (Tennessee), or me tonight. This was about showing Oakland University to the world and to the United States of America," Grizzlies head coach Greg Kampe said. "Our student section was unbelievable, the fans were unbelievable — they wouldn't let us lose. We've won so many games in this building over the last few years because of the atmosphere that's been created here."

The attendance for the game was 3,755 — easily one of the largest crowds in arena history.

'The shots just fell'

To win, Oakland succeeded in every important facet of the game. The Grizzlies led by as many as 14 points in the first half, and never lost the advantage on the scoreboard despite a couple surges by the Volunteers after halftime.

"Obviously, our players played great. The first 16 minutes of the game were probably the best 16 minutes of defense a team I've coached has played," said Kampe, referring to his 28 years on the bench at OU. "We got a little tired in the second half, and so did (Tennessee). A lot of really good players were making plays out there."

Chief among those playmakers for Oakland was senior point guard Reggie Hamilton, who erupted for a career-high 35 points and took charge of the game when OU needed scoring the most.

After Tennessee had cut its deficit to just three points with 8:27 remaining, Hamilton entered the game following a brief rest and promptly sunk a contested 3-point shot and then raced end-to-end for a basket on consecutive possessions to build the Grizzlies' lead right back up.

"I believe my teammates put me in a position to make those plays. I was just going with the flow," Hamilton said. "The shots just fell."

Not to be overlooked was Oakland's success at the free-throw line. Unlike last season when poor free throw shooting cost the Grizzlies a would-be upset win over Michigan State, OU was able to control its nerves and sink 28-of-31 attempts from the line Monday.

The Grizzlies also won the rebounding battle over Tennessee and collected offensive rebounds for critical second chance points time after time. Junior forward Drew Valentine was a force to be reckoned with, finishing with 15 points and eight rebounds, while shutting down the Volunteers' top scorer defensively.

Redshirt freshman center Corey Petros was also a revelation for Oakland, pulling down a game-high 13 rebounds and chipping in with seven points.

Senior Laval Lucas-Perry (14 points) and sophomore Travis Bader (13 points) also reached double figures for the Black and Gold.

"It's another great feeling," Valentine said of the win. "Last year, we had two pro prospects in Keith Benson and Will Hudson, along with Larry Wright, who is also playing pro now. This year, I don't think anybody expected this from Oakland University. For all of the guys in our locker room to come out and put on a good show, I'm more excited than I was last year."

OU now 4-2

Monday's defeat of the Volunteers gave Oakland its third victory over a major conference opponent in its home building. The last came in 2003 against Texas A&M.

"We expected to win. We don't think we should ever lose in our building," Kampe said. "If you think about where we were 10 years ago, though, it's a big difference … We've come a long way.

"I'm very proud because a lot of the pundits said we were just a one-trick pony with Keith Benson. But we won a lot of games before Keith was here and we'll win a lot of games now that he's left."

Benson, who in June became the first player in Oakland history to be selected in the NBA draft, was in attendance to see his former teammates pull off the upset for a second year in a row.

At halftime, before the raucous crowd of loyal supporters.

With the win, Oakland improved its record to 4-2 on the young season. The Grizzlies will continue their seven-game homestand this week with the start of Summit League conference play on Thursday (vs. South Dakota) and Saturday (vs. UMKC).