Oakland overcame a seven-point deficit with just under eight minutes to go and rolled to a 75-68 victory Thursday behind 35 points from star guard Jalen Moore.
The Raiders, who fell to 16-14 overall and 9-10 in the Horizon League, were 5 of 21 on 3′s and were out-rebounded, 42-31, which is somewhat of a shock.
The Grizzlies were one of the worst rebounding teams in the country, getting out-boarded by an average of 6.2 per game.
Brandon Noel had 24 points and 10 rebounds for his 10th double-double of the year. Alex Huibregtse fired in 15 points, going 3 of 6 on 3′s.
“Five offensive rebounds the entire night — not good enough,” coach Scott Nagy said on his postgame radio show. “Two of the last three games, we’ve just gotten crushed on the glass.”
Star guard Trey Calvin played 37 minutes but was held to six points on 3-of-10 shooting.
He tied his lowest output of the season (he had six against UC Riverside) and failed to reach double figures for only the fifth time all year.
Two of his single-digit games have come against Oakland, which held him to eight in a win at the Nutter Center.
Moore, a two-time first-team all-league guard, played 40 minutes and went 8 of 19 from the field and 14 of 16 on foul shots. He also had nine rebounds and six assists.
The Grizzlies (13-17, 11-8) were 21 of 26 on free throws, while the Raiders were 7 of 10.
“That’s been the one thing this year: We don’t shoot enough free throws, and we’re putting teams on the line too much,” Nagy said.
“I look at (the players), and I wonder how much they have left in their heart. That’s the question I asked them after the game: ‘What’s left? Is there anything in the tank? Or are you going to just cash this thing in?’
“We just don’t win the close games. When you have great years, you win the close games.”
The Raiders, who are tied for seventh in the league with Detroit Mercy, had a 57-50 lead with just over eight minutes to go.
But the Grizzlies stormed back, tying it at 59 with four minutes left.
A basket by Noel with 2:43 to go made it 64-64.
But Moore hit a 3 with 2:15 left. After a Raider miss, offensive rebound and then a turnover, Trey Townsend scored for a five-point lead with 1:25 to go.
Andrew Welage made one of two foul shots, and the Raiders snagged another offensive rebound. But Tim Finke missed a 3.
Moore made one of two foul shots to give his team a five-point lead with 58 seconds to go.
Calvin then missed a 3, and the Raiders couldn’t get any closer than four after that.
SATURDAY’S GAME
Wright State at Detroit Mercy, 1 p.m., ESPN+, 980
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