GREEN BAY, Wis. – Alone at the top! Green Bay men's basketball is in sole possession of first place in the Horizon League after taking down Oakland 69-59 at the Resch Center Thursday night in front of 3,513 fans, marking the largest Resch Center crowd since the 2019-20 season.
Foster Wonders was on fire from the field, shooting 7-of-8 overall and 5-of-6 from beyond the arc, tallying a career-high 19 points. Will Eames, who made his second start of the season, also notched a career-high in points with 14 to help the Phoenix (13-9, 8-3 HL). Rich Byhre also poured in 14 points on 5-of-6 shooting and 4-of-4 from deep.
Oakland (12-9, 7-3 HL) was paced by Blake Lampman's 15 points. Chris Conway chipped in with 14 points for the Golden Grizzlies.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The game opened as advertised, with neither squad leading by more than four in the first half. The Golden Grizzlies extended the lead to four after a pair of Tommy Townsend free throws. Oakland's leading scorer this season was held to just nine points in the contest. The game took a turning point with seven minutes left in the first half after Wonders knocked down a triple, tying the game at 20. Noah Reynolds made a layup to take the lead at 25-24 with 4:05 to go before half. Osei Price splashed a three not long before half, helping the Golden Grizzlies take a 28-27 lead into intermission.
Each team fought shot-for-shot out of the break, and Rocket Watts tied the game at 50 on an and-one with 6:20 left in the contest. Rocket's play was the final Oakland bucket before an 11-0 Phoenix run, capped off by a Reynolds layup to give GB a 61-50 advantage with 3:17 remaining. A Lampman triple brought Oakland back to within five, but
Rich Byhre put the dagger in the Golden Grizzlies with a three with 49 seconds to go. Green Bay iced the game from the charity stripe, reigning victorious with a final score of 69-59.
GAME NOTES
» Green Bay lit it up from beyond the arc, knocking down 12 treys on 31 attempts.
» GB's bench was impactful, scoring 24 points.
» The Phoenix had a 32-31 edge on the boards.
» Green Bay recorded 26 points in the paint compared to Oakland's 22.
UP NEXT
Green Bay will close out the weekend at home with Detroit Mercy on Saturday at noon. Saturday is Alumni Day and the Phoenix will retire the jerseys of program legends Tom Anderson, Ron Ripley, and Dennis Woelffer at halftime.
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