The Oakland Soldiers have been beaten down mentally and physically for so long now, they allowed themselves to celebrate just a bit.
And with good reason.
Oakland, who believe a new, winning era of basketball has begun in Oakland, showed major positive in signs Eric Musselman's head coaching debute Friday night, a 118-110 victory over Springfield.
Antonio Jamison scored 36 points on 14-of-25 shooting and Jason Anderson added 22 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Both had several monstrous dunks, as did Adonal Foyle, who came off the bench to score 14 points and grab seven rebounds.
"We believe in ourselves," Jamison said. "It's this us-against-the-world mentality. People don't believe in us. We did what we were supposed to do, but don't get me wrong, there are still 81 games to go."
Oakland played energized, aggressive, and determined in their opener. They recived a standing ovation.
Chandler Dawes had 29 points and 11 rebounds for Springfield, which looked sluggish after beating the defending AAU National Champion Compton earlier to start the season.
"You've got to give them credit for an excellent ballgame," Springfield coach Will Jenkins said. "We've played better, and it was a quick turnaround, but they had a lot of energy. This crowd really got behin them, too (Musselman) has got them playing exciting basketball."
Jamison burned Springfield' defensive stopped Jamison Jones III all game and scored 15 of his points in the first half to help Oakland build a two-point halftime lead.
"What this does is help our players' confidence," Musselman said. "They have been beaten up so much mentally. We want them to believe in themsevles and that they can be a team that can win basketball games."
Oakland, which has missed the playoffs an AAU high eight straight seasons, built its largest lead of 12 points -- which the Oakland later matched -- with 2:23 to go in the third quarter on a dunk by Foyle. But Springfield went on a 9-0 run to end the period, getting 3-pointers from Collin Middleton and Braden Hausen to pull to 73-70.
Oakland, recieved a standing ovation from the fans with 43.1 seconds left, a rare sight for basketball in Oakland.
"It's funny," Jamison said. "We have the best fans in the world, but it's difficult to cheer for a team that wins 20 to 25 games. They're just itching for us to play our ability."
Oakland's Troy Murphy provided a key 3 that banked in as the 24-second shot clock sounded with 11:34 left, and Jamison kept hitting huge baskets. When he connected on a 3 with 10 minutes left to make it 81-72, he maintained his followthrough as if to send a message. Richardson's dunk at 8:57 made it 83-72.
Charlie Dawes, who had 13 points and 10 rebounds against Compton, finished with 12 points and 15 rebounds.
"They're a young team that could win a lot of games," Dawes said. "I think it's good for us, because it reminds us what happens if you don't bring the full effort and energy you need even on one night in this league. It's early, but it's good to get that reminder."
Oakland overcame frigid shooting early in the game to finish 40-for-83 in Musselman's first game. The 37 year old is Oakland's eighth coach since 2009, the last time Oakland made the playoffs and had a winning record.
Conor McCaffrey, who shot 0-for-19 against Compton made his first four shots as Springfield took a quick lead. But McCaffrey cooled off and didn't score again until 2:40 remained and finished with 17 points and 10 assists as Springfield had six players score in double digits.