Oakland Cruises to a Vegas 16 Win Over Towson

The Oakland Golden Grizzlies had to wait three weeks to take the court again after their Horizon League Tournament letdown. They took their frustrations out on the Towson Tigers in an emphatic, 90-72 win at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.

In the first round of the inaugural Vegas 16 tournament, the two teams traded punches for much of the first half. Towson was able to keep Oakland within reach until the Golden Grizzlies went on a run over the final 10:23 of the first half. Oakland outscored Towson 31-11 over that stretch to close out the half and took a 45-28 lead into the break.

The Tigers were able to cut the Oakland lead down to single digits on a Mike Morsell three-pointer with 13:35 remaining in the second half. However, Oakland quickly responded with baskets from Kahlil Felder and Jalen Hayes to push the lead back into double digits. Another Morsell three pulled the Tigers back within single digits and the Golden Grizzlies were unable to put Towson away until about five minutes remained in the game. Oakland outscored Towson 17-8 over the game's final five minutes to put the lead out of reach.

Felder, the Horizon League Player of the Year, led Oakland in scoring with 27 points and in assists with seven. Xavier Hill-Mais and Martez Walker also scored in double figures for the Golden Grizzlies with 16 and 14 points respectively. The win propels the Golden Grizzlies into the semifinals of the Vegas 16 where they will await the winner between Louisiana Tech and East Tennessee State. The semifinal game will take place on Tuesday night.

Morsell led the Tigers with 22 points and Arnaud William Adala Moto chipped in with a double-double of 14 points and 13 rebounds. The loss ends Towson's season with a 20-13 record.