ROCHESTER, MI--- The Vikings lost an absolute heartbreaker in Oakland squaring off against the Golden Grizzlies Saturday afternoon, the final score was 92-89. The Vikings at one point lead by 16 in the 2nd half, but let Oakland crawl back and force overtime, and ultimately win the game.
The first half believe it or not started on the slow end, the first 10 minutes saw a 4 minute scoring drought for CSU and then later on a 2 minute overall scoring drought. Things would pick up with Jayson Woodrich making a great hustle play to get 1 of his 2 steals on the night, passing the ball to Tae Williams for the slam to make the score 15-13 with 6:31 left in the first half. Tristan Enaruna would then tie the game at 15 with a layup, then a minute later Yahel Hill would take the Viking lead with a 3 pointer to make the score 21-18.
The second half, CSU came out hot, especially from behind the arc, and maintained a lead through the majority of the second half, leading by 16 at one point, but the Golden Grizzlies clawed their way back into the game in the last 2 minutes, with 11 seconds left of the game, Oakland was within 2 thanks to a Blake Lampman 3 pointer making the score 82-80 with 11 seconds to go. Right after that Keaton Hervey was sent to the free throw line, he made both attempts, game tied at 82.
Overtime was extremely frustrating for the Vikings, Oakland would make 1 field goal for the entire OT period, but CSU sent Oakland to the line for 8 free throws, and they nailed them all. Fouls and turnovers were costly for the Vikings, as we would see 3 Viking players disqualified due to fouls, Tae Williams, Deshon Parker, and Jayson Woodrich. The Vikings also gave up 19 points off of turnovers.
The Vikings have a good chunk of time to shake this one off, their next game is Friday February 10th vs. Robert Morris. Tip off is set for 7 pm and that game will air on Fox Sports 1350 The Gambler, the free iHeartRadio app, and HERE