ROCHESTER, Mich.�€"Erik Kangas sank a pair of free
throws with 0.4 seconds remaining in overtime to lead Oakland to an
85-84 Mid-Continent Conference win over Oral Roberts University,
Saturday at the O�€™Rena.
Kangas�€™ free throws came after ORU appaeared to
have won the game with a buzzer-beating putback. But game officials
ruled the clock should be reset to :0.4 seconds, giving Oakland one
last chance for a miracle finish.
With
Ken Tutt (Garland, Texas) at the line for the
second of two free throws and ORU (20-10, 12-2) holding an 82-80
lead, a lane violation was called on Oakland (17-13, 10-4) before
Tutt released the ball, but one official over ruled the original
call and whistled a double-lane violation, giving the ball to
Oakland on the alternating possession arrow.
On the
return trip, Kangas drained a three-pointer from the top of the key
with 15 seconds left for an 83-82 Oakland lead, but ORU still had a
chance. After a timeout, Yemi Ogunoye (Cedar Hill,
Texas) rebounded a missed jumper by Moses Ehambe
(Arlington, Texas) with 1.5 seconds remaining and put in what
appeared to be the game-winning basket. But the officials viewed a
replay on a monitor at the scorer�€™s table and
put .4 seconds back on the clock, giving Oakland life as ORU led,
84-83.
Following a Golden Grizzlies timeout, ORU�€™s
Shawn King (Bequia, St. Vincent) was called for a
foul when he bumped into Kangas on the inbounds pass. Kangas made
two free throws, giving Oakland an improbable victory.
ORU
appeared to have the game well in-hand late in the second half,
leading 68-58 on a three-point play by Marchello
Vealy (Oklahoma City, Okla.) with 6:45 remaining.
But
Oakland rallied, going on a 7-0 run over the next 2:33, pulling
within 68-65 on a layup by Shawn Hopes.
Back-to-back layups by Caleb Green (Tulsa, Okla.)
and Vealy gave ORU a 72-65 advantage with 4:09 to play, but Oakland
continued to cut into the lead by getting to the free throw line.
In fact, the Golden Grizzlies scored their final nine points of
regulation at the charity stripe.
Two key
plays in the final four minutes of regulation helped force
overtime. With 3:42 remaining, one official whistled Oakland for a
shooting foul on Green, but another official over ruled and called
Green for a travel, giving the ball to Oakland.
The
game�€™s most critical play �€" up to
that point �€" came with 30 seconds remaining when Tutt
was whistled for a 5-second violation in front of the ORU bench as
head coach Scott Sutton was calling for a timeout.
The timeout wasn�€™t granted and the turnover
helped set up the eventual game-tying free throw by
Oakland�€™s Rick Billings with 14 seconds
left.
ORU
shot 57.1 percent from the field, and 76.2 percent (16-21) from the
line. The Golden Eagles limited Oakland to 40.3 percent shooting,
but the Golden Grizzlies made 28-of-36 from the free throw
line.
The
loss spoiled several stand-out performances by ORU players. Green
led all scorers with 24 points on 10-of-15 shooting, adding six
rebounds and two steals. But the nation�€™s
leader with 11.2 free throw attempts per game was just 4-of-6 from
the line.
Tutt
scored 19 points, with 14 coming in the second half and overtime.
King had 13 points, seven rebounds and two assists, while Vealy
came off the bench with 17 points and 11 rebounds.
Vova
Severovas led Oakland with 20 points and eight rebounds, while
Kangas added 19. Hopes and Billings each scored 14 points, and
Derick nelson came off the bench with 13 points and seven
boards.
The
Golden Eagles open Mid-Con Tournament play as the No. 1 seed, and
face No. 8 seed Centenary, 6 p.m., Saturday, March 3 at the UMAC in
Tulsa.
--ORU--
