NCAA Game #1: Oakland 85 Mustangs 72

Ryan Barbeau 

article by Darryl Wheeler Mustangs Athletics

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The Western Mustangs men’s basketball team was defeated 85-72 by the Oakland University Grizzlies at Alumni Hall tonight in their first exhibition action of the season. Oakland, the current Summit League Champion, was looking to rebound from an 86-82 loss at the hands of the Windsor Lancers on Sunday.

The Grizzlies enter the 2011 campaign looking to replace departed all-American and NBA draft pick Keith Benson while Western looks to fill the gap that Andy Wedemire leaves. Wedemire graduated this year, but recently signed a pro contract with the Glasgow Rocks in Scotland. The match-up featured a returning mid-major freshman all-American in Oakland’s Travis Bader. It is also the first action Mustangs recruits Aaron Shadrach and Jermaine Bernard saw on the hardwood as part of the purple and white.

Right off the tip-off the action was fast tempo with many turnovers though, as both teams worked out the kinks. Western took the early lead 6-5, but Oakland quickly jumped to15-6 thanks to three consecutive three-pointers, two of which came courtesy of Dante Williams. Despite the deficit, the speed remained quick and the Mustangs got plenty of looks close to the basket. The Mustangs chipped away at the lead in the first half courtesy of Ryan Barbeau. 

Midway through the first half, Oakland built up their lead to a nine-point advantage. Drew Valentine led the Grizzlies in first-half minutes while Brad Campbell rotated everyone so the freshman and sophomores could gain valuable minutes. Mustang Drew Berardi nailed a three from the corner to spurt a run for Western cutting the Oakland’s lead down to five. The young Western squad seemed at times, in the opening frame, to frustrate the Summit League champions.  

Second-year man Peter Scholtes led the Mustang charge in the first half with aggressive play in the paint, combined with solid shooting. The Mustangs sliced the lead to two points at 32-30 with just over four minutes to go in the first half.

Alumni Hall got loud stemming off a long-range field goal from rookie Ryan Higgins to cut Oakland’s lead to just one point. The Mustangs shot then went from cold to hot as they grabbed their first lead of the game, 39-37, off a Quinn Henderson three-pointer with less than two minutes to go in the half. Henderson came back with a layup with four seconds left, giving the Mustangs a 42-41 lead halftime.

Berardi and Henderson for Western had strong first-half showings while Drew Valentine and Laval Lucas-Perry were effective in moving the ball up the court. The Grizzlies shot 61.9 percent from the field and 54.5 percent from three-point land. Western shot 48.3 percent in the first half and 50 percent from three-point range. Both teams shot multiple times from beyond the arc.

The opening of the second half saw Oakland jump back into the lead thanks to the large inside presence of six-foot, nine-inch centre Corey Petros and the speed of Lucas-Perry, forcing Western to call an early timeout. Oakland led 51-43 five minutes into the second half. The Grizzlies opened up this 10-point lead and maintained it thanks to the combo of Valentine and guard Ryan Bass. Despite opening up with a personal 12-point lead, Scholtes continued his knack for scoring from inside and outside, being one of the primary scorers to lead the Western attack. The second half showed a lot of aggressive play from both sides making the teams earn every basket with no free passes to the rim given.

With just over six minutes remaining in the game, the Grizzlies maintained their 10-point advantage. Western freshman Bernard helped to once again inch closer to the Summit League champions but the size and the speed of Oakland was just too much for the young Mustangs squad to handle. Third-year guard Bader shut the door on Western's hopes draining a three-pointer and putting the exclamation point on the game with a breakaway slam-dunk.

Lucas-Perry led Oakland with 28 points and Bader chipped in with 15. For Western, Sholtes led the Mustangs with 17 points and Henderson chipped in with 16. Both players were very effective finding the three-pointers and their way to the foul line.

Despite the loss, Barbeau exhibited his veteran presence on the court drawing multiple fouls while making it difficult for the Oakland offense gain momentum. The young Mustangs played a strong 40 minutes and will look to change the result next Tuesday, Aug. 23, at 7 p.m. at Alumni Hall where they host legendary coach Rick Majerus and his St. Louis Billiken squad of the Atlantic 10 conference.