By Murray Gleffe
Correspondent
GREEN BAY — After losing nine consecutive games to start the season, the Green Bay men’s basketball team appears to be turning the corner.
Trailing by four points late in overtime, the Phoenix scored the final seven points of the game in an 84-81 Horizon League win over Oakland Jan. 8 at the Kress Events Center.
“I’m proud of the way we played from start to finish,” said Green Bay player Josh Jefferson. “We’ve been in this situation in the past and haven’t executed and handled adversity well. Our hard work finally translated into a victory at home.”
Jefferson led the Phoenix (2-9 overall, 2-5 Horizon League) with 25 points and five assists.
Amari Davis added 18 points and four steals, while PJ Pipes rounded out the double-digit scorers with 15.
Green Bay had 21 assists and shot a scorching 50.8 percent from the floor.
“I commended the guys on the number of assists we had today,” said Will Ryan, Green Bay head coach. “It’s got to be a season-high for sure. We had a few guys who were maybe loose with the ball earlier in the season that are making the right reads now and being strong with the ball.”
Oakland’s Jalen Moore finished with a game-high 33 points.
After a back-and-forth affair to start, Green Bay took control of the first half when Jefferson came off the bench and hit a top-of-the-key 3-pointer for a 16-9 lead.
It was just the start of a hot shooting half for the Phoenix.
Minutes later, Southern Door graduate Ryan Claflin converted on a three-point play to give Green Bay its biggest lead, 31-19.
Coming out of the media timeout, Oakland head coach Greg Kampe went to a 1-3-1 matchup zone, and it paid dividends the rest of the half.
The Phoenix saw a 12-point lead turn into a three-point deficit (34-31) after the Golden Grizzlies (3-11, 3-4) went on a 15-0 run, spurred on by Moore’s ability to get to the basket.
Green Bay closed the half with a dunk by Paris Taylor to trail by a point at intermission.
The second half saw 15 lead changes with no team having more than a three-point lead until Lucas Stieber (Green Bay Southwest graduate) fed Jefferson for a back-door layup to put the Phoenix up 67-63 with 3:17 left in the second half.
With Green Bay leading 71-68 with less than a minute remaining in regulation, Oakland’s Rashad Williams hit a deep three to even the game.
Davis’ running 35-footer to win the game for Green Bay fell wide of the mark, and the teams went to overtime.
In the extra session, the Golden Grizzlies took command and went up 81-77 after Moore connected on a layup.
On Green Bay’s ensuing possession, a long miss caromed to Jefferson, who then canned a triple to cut the deficit to one with 38 seconds showing on the clock.
Oakland then turned the ball over with 11.4 seconds left, and Davis hit two free throws to give Green Bay an 82-81 lead.
The Golden Grizzlies’ last-ditch shot was airballed, and Jefferson knocked down two free throws with a second remaining to preserve the victory.
“Hats off to our guys for finishing the way they did,” said Ryan. “They stepped up. I told them in the locker room afterward, a week or two ago we probably don’t get this done. They are starting to believe.”
Box score:
Oakland: 34, 37, 10—81
Green Bay: 33, 38, 13—84
Golden Grizzlies: Moore 33, Oladapo 20, Williams 15, Townsend 6, Lampman 3, Kangu 2, Young 2.
Phoenix: Jefferson 25, Davis 18, Pipes 15, Stieber 6, Claflin 6, Taylor 6, Ansong 6, Thompson 2.