ROCHESTER, Mich.—
Kevin Ford (Portland, Ore.) scored a
career-high 19 points but it wasn't enough to off-set a strong
offensive performance by Oakland as the Golden Grizzlies snapped
ORU's 8-game winning streak with an 81-69 Summit League win,
Thursday at the Athletics O'Rena.
Oakland (14-11 overall, 7-5 Summit) placed four players in
double-figures, made 12 3-pointers, and shot over 56 percent from
the field. The loss for ORU (11-12, 9-2) dropped the second-place
Golden Eagles one-and-a-half games behind North Dakota State in the
league standings.
ORU held the lead early but it didn't last long. Leading 12-11,
Oakland went on an 11-0 run taking a 22-12 lead on a Jonathan Jones
trey with 12:37 left in the half.
The Golden Eagles closed to within 28-24 with 5:01 left before
halftime when a three-pointer by Kyron
Stokes (Mansfield, Texas) capped an 8-2 run. But Oakland
maintained the lead, pushing it to as many as nine before settling
for a 37-30 halftime advantage.
The second half featured more back-and-forth play and more
offensive dynamics.
Robert Jarvis (Humble, Texas) drained a
three-pointer with 15:37 to play, tying the game at 45-45. Oakland
quickly pushed the lead back to five (52-47), but ORU came right
back, scoring seven of the game's next nine points. Andre
Hardy (San Diego, Calif.) tied the game with the first of two
free throws, but missed the second and the game remained tied at
54-54.
Following a pair of Keith Benson free throws, Hardy again tied the
game at 56-56 with a short jumper at 9:50, but Oakland ripped off
six straight points in just over a minute for a 62-56 lead with
8:44 to play. ORU never got any closer.
Ford finished the game 8-of-13 from the field, but only 3-of-7 from
the line. He added six rebounds and two blocked shots. Jarvis was
the only other Golden Eagle in double figures, scoring 16
points.
Erik Kangas led Oakland with 21 points, while Benson added 19 and
10 rebounds. Jones had 17 points and 13 assists, while Dan
Waterstradt chipped in with 10 points.
ORU shot 50.8 percent, but was only 4-of-16 from three-point range.
Oakland out-rebounded ORU, 31-26.
The Golden Eagles return to action when they visit IPFW, 3 p.m.,
Saturday in Ft. Wayne, Ind.
--ORU--
