FORT WAYNE, Ind. – Purdue Fort Wayne men’s basketball prevailed over visiting Oakland in overtime 79-73 on Saturday (Dec. 3) on a national stage in front of ESPNU cameras at the Gates Sports Center.

The Mastodons led for a bulk of Saturday’s matinee, but a late run by the Golden Grizzlies, highlighted by a 3-pointer by Jalen Moore with 11 seconds left, tied the score at 71 and forced the extra period.

A 7-0 run to open overtime helped seal the victory for the ‘Dons. The ‘Dons limited Oakland to 1-of-8 shooting in the extra five minutes. Johnathan DeJurnett had two rebounds and two key free throws off the bench in the overtime session.

Damian Chong Qui broke a 71-71 gridlock with a floater in the paint at the 2:42 mark of overtime. Following a stop on the defensive end, Bobby Planutis buried a 3-pointer in the near corner to put the Mastodons ahead by five. Planutis finished the game with a career-high 20 points on the strength of 7-of-12 shooting from the field and 5-of-9 from deep.

Three other Mastodons would join Planutis in double-figure scoring on Saturday afternoon. Jarred Godfrey scored 14 points while adding five assists. He was also a perfect 5-of-5 from the charity stripe. Ra Kpedi also scored 14 points while matching his career-high of 12 rebounds.

Kpedi finished 6-of-7 from the field. Deonte Billups added 11 points and a trio of three-pointers.
Keaton Hervey led Oakland with 20 points and 13 rebounds. Rocket Watts added 20 points for the Golden Grizzlies.

Purdue Fort Wayne held a 44-37 advantage on the glass in Saturday’s win. The Mastodons led Oakland by a 20-2 margin in second chance points.

The overtime win is their first overtime victory since defeating Cleveland State in triple overtime a season ago. Purdue Fort Wayne improved to 12-5 all-time in overtime games played at home.

Purdue Fort Wayne improved to 5-4 (1-1 Horizon League) with the win. Oakland fell to 2-8 (0-2 Horizon) with the loss. The Mastodons will travel to Missouri for a pair of road contests next week. Purdue Fort Wayne will face Southeast Missouri State on Wednesday (Dec. 7) at 8 p.m. ET before traveling on to Missouri State on Saturday (Dec. 10) for an 8 p.m. ET matchup against the Bears. Both contests will be on ESPN+.