Tonight's Game
The Golden Eagles close out the regular season at UMKC on Saturday ... a win tonight would give ORU a season-best five-game winning streak ... ORU has won nine straight games against the Kangaroos, and four straight in K.C. ... the game is a homecoming for Kansas City natives Michael Craion (Ruskin HS) and Dominique Morrison (Raytown HS) ... injured guard Roderick Pearson (Raytown South HS) is also from Kansas City but didn't make the trip ... Dominique Morrison is expected to start his 62nd consecutive game tonight.

The Coaches
ORU's Scott Sutton is in his 11th season as the head coach of the Golden Eagles, and his 15th overall with the program. Sutton is 202-138 (.594) as head coach and ranks second in school history in career wins. He is the son of legendary coach Eddie Sutton, and the younger brother of former Oklahoma State head coach Sean Sutton. Scott Sutton is a two-time Summit League Coach of the Year (2002, 2008) and earned NABC District 12 co-Coach of the Year in 2005, sharing the award with his father. In 2007, Sutton was a finalist for the Clair Bee Coaching Excellence Award. Since the start of the 2001-02 season, Sutton has posted a 178-102 (.636) record, including four 20-win seasons, four consecutive Summit League regular-season titles (2005-08) and three straight NCAA Tournament berths (2006-08).
UMKC's Matt Brown is 30-61 in his third season with the Kangaroos.

Southern Utah Leftovers
Michael Craion scored a season-high 23 points against the Thunderbirds ... Craion also recorded his seventh double-double of the season by adding 12 rebounds ... Kevin Ford also recorded a double-double -- his 10th of the year -- with 18 poitns and 10 rebounds ... ORU shot a season-high 57.1 percent against the Thunderbirds, one game after shooting a then-season best 56.1 percent at Austin Peay ... Warren Niles tied a career-high with five assists ... ORU limited Southern Utah to 31 percent shooting in the second half ... the win was ORU's seventh straight in Cedar City and 16th straight overall against the T-Birds.

Movin' On Up
As his career draws to a close, Kevin Ford is getting close to etching his name in the ORU record books. With 43 blocked shots this season Ford needs five more to pass Chuck Dahms (1976-77) for 10th on the single-season blocks list. With at least three games remaining and 68 career blocks, Ford needs six more to crack to career top 10 list.
Sophomore forward Dominique Morrison is steadily moving up the single-season and career free throw charts. Through 30 games this season, Morrison's 124 made free throws already rank ninth in ORU history and he needs just five more to move into seventh. If the season ended today, Morrison's 84.4 percent free throw shooting would rank eighth all-time and his career 83.5 percent free throw shooting is currently fifth all time.

Road Warrior
Warren Niles is having the best season by an ORU freshman since all-time ORU greats Caleb Green and Ken Tutt burst on the scene together in 2003-04. Niles is the Summit League's top freshman scorer at 12.7 points per game, and has enjoyed 19 double-digit scoring performances.
But surprisingly, Niles has excelled on the road and not in the comfortable surroundings of the Mabee Center. In 17 road games, Niles is averaging 15.4 points and shooting 44.4 percent from 3-point range. Both of his 30-point performances have come on the road (at IUPUI and Oakland).
Niles has struggled at home, averaging 9.5 points and shooting a paltry 25.4 percent on threes.

ORU in Summit League Play
ORU is 144-61 (.702) in regular season Summit League play all-time in 13 seasons. ORU owns the second-best winning percentage in League history, behind only former member Missouri State's .767 (79-24) clip. The Golden Eagles have captured five regular-season titles ('99, '05, '06, '07, '08) and three tournament championships ('06, '07, '08). Since the 2004-05 season, ORU is 80-19 (.808) in Summit League regular season play, and 91-21 (.813) when including Summit League Tournament games.

Giant Killers
Every season since 2002-03, ORU has pulled off at least one upset of a power conference or Top 25-ranked team. This season, the Golden Eagles earned the trifecta, defeating Stanford, Missouri and No. 13/12 New Mexico, all in the course of a month.
Date Opponent Score Notes
11/26/02 Arkansas (H) 76-64 First win over Arkansas since '96
11/30/02 Wichita State (H) 76-71 Part of 6-0 start to season
12/20/03 Wichita State (A) 76-73 First game in WSU's renovated Koch Arena
12/20/04 Georgetown (N)* 81-63 Eagles defeated Hoyas squad with Jeff Green, Roy Hibbert
2/19/05 Missouri State (A) 86-76 Sutton defeats the man he replaced as ORU head coach
11/23/05 Southern Cal (N)^ 68-48 First win over a Pac-10 team in 23 years
11/15/06 No. 3 Kansas (A) 78-71 Highest-ranked opponent ever defeated
12/28/06 Seton Hall (N)% 76-74 Second win over Big East team in three years
12/20/07 Oklahoma State (N)& 74-59 First Sutton vs. Sutton battle goes to little bro
12/22/08 South Florida (N)* 86-63 Third win over Big East foe in five years
11/18/09 Stanford (A)# 83-81 Roderick Pearson's buzzer beater the difference
12/9/09 Missouri (H) 60-59 ORU rallies from 11 points down to win on Michael Craion's layup at :0.9
12/23/09 No. 13 New Mexico (H) 75-66 Michael Craion gets 18-13-7 as Golden Eagles roll Lobos
*-Rainbow Classic; ^-Great Alaska Shootout; %-BYU Holiday Classic; &-All-College Classic; *-San Juan Shootout; #-Cancun Challenge

Domo-Arrigato
Throughout all the adversity the Golden Eagles have suffered through this season, the one constant has been the play of sophomore forward Dominique Morrison. Through 30 games Morrison leads ORU and ranks among Summit League leaders in scoring (15.5) and assists (2.8), while also ranking among the league top 10 in free throw percentage (.844).
Morrison has also saved his best efforts for the toughest foes. He scored a career-high 31 points in ORU's win at Stanford on Nov. 18; had a game-high 21 points in a home win over Missouri on Dec. 9, and pumped in 17 points, four rebounds, four assists and three steals in ORU's upset of No. 13/12 New Mexico. In those three games, Morrison averaged 23.0 points, 6.7 rebounds and 3.7 assists.
In Summit League play, Morrison is averaging 15.0 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game while shooting 86.5 percent from the free throw line.

The Magnificent Seven Becomes the Elite Eight
Now that junior forward Javier Nasarre has returned to action after missing six games with a fractured right wrist, the Golden Eagles are finally back at full strength -- eight scholarship players.
It's been a tumultuous year already for ORU with Hunter McClintock, Tim Morton and Roderick Pearson out for the year with ACL injuries. Sophomore guard Beloved Rogers also quit over Thanksgiving weekend. Nasarre has missed a total of nine games due to various injuries, and Stokes (2 games) an Niles (1 game) have each missed time for various injury-related reasons. Only five players (Dominique Morrison, Michael Craion, Kevin Ford, Ken Holdman and Damen Bell-Holter) have played in all 29 games.
All told, ORU basketball players have missed a combined total of 101 games due to injuries entering Saturday's game at UMKC.

Youthful Ambitions
While ORU's injury situation has gotten plenty of attention over the past months, one angle that hasn't been discussed much is the Golden Eagles' youth. Six of ORU's top nine players are either freshmen or sophomores, with the sole upperclassmen being Kevin Ford, Michael Craion and Javier Nasarre. Sophomores Dominique Morrison and Ken Holdman, and freshman Warren Niles join Ford and Craion in the starting lineup while sophomore Kyron Stokes and freshmen Damen Bell-Holter and Mikey Manghum (a walk-on) comprise ORU's bench most nights.
ORU's loss to Oakland on Jan. 7 illustrated the lack of experience. The Golden Grizzlies starters owned a total of 467 games of Division I experience, while ORU's quintet had just 215 career games between them.

Niles' Big Night
Warren Niles set a school freshman single-game scoring record when he poured in 39 points in ORU's 90-87 overtime loss at IUPUI on Jan. 14. Niles was 13-of-23 from the field, including 5-of-10 from 3-point range, and 8-of-10 from the free throw line. His 13 field goals against the Jaguars were the most by any ORU player since Caleb Green converted 14 at Southern Utah on Jan. 4, 2006.

Color Him Productive
Junior forward Michael Craion is perhaps ORU's most complete player, and his efforts in the early going are making a mark. In back-to-back victories over UMKC and Southern Utah in December Craion scored season high's of 21 and 22 points, then followed those efforts up with the game-winning shot against Missouri on Dec. 9. He saved his best for New Mexico, when his 18-point, 13-rebound, 7-assist effort earned Summit League player of the week honors.
Arguably the elading candidate for Summit League Newcomer of the Year, Craion enters the UMKC game averaging 12.9 points and 7.2 rebounds per game while shooting 50.9 percent from the field.

At Home in Mabee Center
ORU has experienced a basketball rebirth over the last seven seasons, and nowhere has that been more evident than in games played at Mabee Center. Since the start of the 2002-03 season, ORU is 84-15 (.848) at home and an amazing 58-7 (.892) in conference play in that time.

Niles Named Summit League Player of the Week
Warren Niles claimed his second Summit League Player of the Week honor on Feb. 8 after averaging 25.5 points and shooting nearly 60 percent during the week of Feb. 1-7. Niles' performance included a 30-point outing at league-leader Oakland.
Against the Golden Grizzlies, Niles shot 81 percent, converting 13-of-16 attempts, and scored 10 of his game-high 30 points over the final 2:28 seconds, including a game-tying layup with 14 seconds remaining. Niles converted his first seven shots in the contest and went 3-for-4 from three-point range while also grabbing three rebounds.
In his previous outing, Niles scored a team-high 21 points in ORU's overtime victory over IPFW. He added five rebounds, three steals and two assists on the night.
Niles is the first Summit League freshman to win multiple player of the week honors since ORU's Caleb Green and Ken Tutt captured three apiece in 2003-04.
For the week, Niles shot 59.5 percent from the field and 50 percent from beyond the arc, to go along with his 25.5 scoring average and 4.0 rebounds per game. For the season, Niles is averaging 12.4 points and 3.9 rebounds while shooting 37.5 percent (45-120) from 3-point range.

Craion Named Summit League Player of the Week
ORU's Michael Craion earned the Summit League Men's Basketball Player of the Week award for his performance Dec. 22-28. The honor was the first of his career.
Craion, totaled 18 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists while leading the Golden Eagles to an upset victory over previously unbeaten New Mexico, who entered the contest ranked as high as No. 12. The junior forward went 5-of-8 from the floor and 8-of-12 from the free throw line while recording his third double-double of the season.
The Lobos were the highest-ranked opponent ever defeated by ORU at home and the victory marked the Golden Eagles' first win over a ranked team since 2006 and first home win over a ranked team since 1996.

Kansas City Kings
The 2009-10 Golden Eagles roster contains a rarity for any program: three players from the same out-of- state city. Juniors Michael Craion (Ruskin HS) and Rod Pearson (Raytown South HS), and sophomore Dominique Morrison (Raytown HS) all live in Kansas City, Mo. The last time ORU had three or more players on the roster from the same out-of-state city was in 1987-88 when four players hailed from Charlotte, N.C.: Rodney Davis (Myers Park HS), Anthony Houston (Harding HS), Jules Springs (West HS) and Haywoode Workman (Myers Park HS).

Angsomwine Inks NLI During Early Signing Period
Chris Angsomwine has signed a National Letter-of-Intent to play at ORU during the fall early signing period.
A 6-9, 215-pound forward at Kilgore (Texas) College, Angsomwine is ORU's first 2010 signee. He will have two years of eligibility when he enrolls next fall.
Angsomwine is in his first year with Rangers after spending last season at Harcum College in suburban Philadelphia. Kilgore is 2-0 with Angsomwine averaging 6.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per game.

ORU Picked Second in Summit League Preseason Poll
ORU was picked second in the annual Summit League preseason poll of head coaches, media members and Sports Information Directors. Oakland was the overwhelming preseason favorite, garnering 34 of 35 first place votes while third place IUPUI received the other. After Oakland, ORU and IUPUI, the others are South Dakota State, North Dakota State, IPFW, Southern Utah, Western Illinois, UMKC, and Centenary.

Ford, Morrison Named Preseason All-Summit League
Forwards Kevin Ford and Dominique Morrison were named to the Summit League's preseason second team. Ford, a senior, averaged 9.4 points and 7.4 rebounds while Morrison, a sophomore, averaged 9.6 points and 3.2 rebounds in starting all 31 games. Both players were named to the 2009 All-Newcomer team.

ORU Basketball on the Radio
All ORU games can be heard in northeastern Oklahoma on "The Sports Animal", 97.1 FM and 1550 AM. Geoff Haxton begins his third full season as the play-by-play voice of the Golden Eagles. Fans can also listen on-line at www.orugoldeneagles.com.
The ORU Coaches Hour
Join ORU coaches and athletes every Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. for the ORU Coaches Hour, broadcast live from Pepper's Grill at 91st & Delaware and carried on FM 97.1 "The Sports Animal". Tulsa radio personality Geoff Haxton hosts the one-hour call-in show. Men's head coach Scott Sutton and women's head coach Jerry Finkbeiner are regular guests.

About ORU
Founded in 1963 by evangelist Oral Roberts, ORU is a 400-acre campus located in South Tulsa. ORU boasts a total enrollment of over 5,000 students from all 50 states and more than 30 foreign countries. Some famous ORU alums include entertainer Kathy Lee Gifford, Pulitzer-prize nominated author Clifton Taulbert and two-time NCAA track & field national champion and 2008 Olympic silver medalist Andretti Bain. "The Simpsons" creator Matt Groening briefly attended ORU, and subsequently, many of the characters on the show are modeled after former ORU students and staff members. In fact, if you look closely over Ned Flanders' fireplace, his college diploma reads "Oral Roberts University".

Up Next
The Golden Eagles open play as the number three seed in the Summit League Tournament against either North Dakota State or Western Illinois, 8:30 p.m., Sunday, March 7 in Sioux Falls, S.D.