Tonight's Game
The Golden Eagles embark on their 13th postseason appearance when they visit SMU in the opening round of the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament ... this is ORU's fifth postseason appearance in seven years, but its first since the 2008 NCAA Tournament ... ORU is 4-12 all-time in post-season play ... junior swingman Kyron Stokes (Mansfield Summit HS) will play the first game of his career in the Dallas-Ft. Worth Metroplex ... junior forward Dominique Morrison needs 18 points to become the 15th player in school history to reach 600 points in a season ... a win tonight gives ORU its sixth 20-win season in the last seven years ... the winner of tonight's game won't learn their second round opponent until later in the week ... second round games are March 18 and 19.

ORU Falls to Oakland in Summit League Title Game
Tournament MVP Keith Benson scored 28 points and 14 rebounds to lead Oakland to a 90-76 win over Oral Roberts in the Summit League Championship Game, March 8 at Sioux Falls Arena.
Dominique Morrison led ORU with 22 points and 11 rebounds, but his play wasn't enough. The Golden Eagles were done in by too many turnovers (14) and an Oakland squad which shot 52 percent from the field.
Oakland led by as many as 16 points in the first half, taking a 43-27 lead on a Benson jumper with 1:14 left before halftime. But a three-point play by Steven Roundtree and a three-pointer by Morrison with 22 seconds left helped pull ORU within 45-33 at halftime.
The Golden Eagles came out strong to start the second half, opening the final 20 minutes on an 11-2 run and cutting the deficit to 47-44 on a Morrison layup with 17:15 to play.
Oakland eventually pushed the lead back to eight points when a Benson dunk made it 52-44 with 15:25 to play. But again ORU rallied, out-scoring Oakland 11-2 over the next two minutes and taking a 55-54 lead on a four-point play by Warren Niles with 13:29 to go.
The lead seesawed back-and-forth over the next few possessions before Oakland regained control of the game. After ORU got to within 60-59 on a Tim Morton jumper with 11:21 remaining, the Golden Grizzlies scored the next 11 points to gain a 71-59 lead with 8:58 left. ORU never challenged again.
Morrison was 7-of-15 from the field and 7-of-8 from the free throw line, adding two assists to his team-high scoring and rebounding totals. Niles scored 13 points but was just 5-of-13 from the field. Ken Holdman and Roundtree each scored 10 points while Damen Bell-Holter added 11 points, five rebounds and three assists.

Head Coach Scott Sutton
ORU's Scott Sutton is in his 12th season as the head coach of the Golden Eagles, and his 16th overall with the program. Sutton is 223-154 (.592) as head coach and become the school's career victories leader with an 81-73 win over South Dakota State on Feb. 5 in Tulsa. He is the son of legendary coach Eddie Sutton, and the younger brother of former Oklahoma State head coach and current ORU Executive Adviser 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 five 20-win seasons, four consecutive Summit League regular-season titles (2005-08), and three straight NCAA Tournament appearances (2006-08).

Morrison Named NABC All-District
Dominique Morrison has been named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches All-District 12 second team.
Morrison, a 6-6 junior, currently leads the Golden Eagles in scoring at 19.4 points per game. A first-team All-Summit League selection this season, Morrison was recently named to the Summit League all-tournament team after leading ORU to a runner-up finish.
Morrison also averages 4.9 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game. He scored a career-high 35 points on Dec. 2 at Western Illinois and has scored in double figures in 29 of his 30 games this season, including 13 games of 20 or more points.
Currently the Summit League's third-leading scorer, Morrison's 582 points through 30 games ranks 15th all-time in ORU single-season history. His 1,385 career points ranks 11th.

Roundtree, Morrison Honored on All-Summit League Teams
ORU freshman Steven Roundtree was named Summit League newcomer of the Year, and junior Dominique Morrison earned a spot on the all-league first team for the second straight season. ORU sophomores Damen Bell-Holter and Warren Niles earned honorable mention All-Summit accolades.
Roundtree, who also earned a spot on the Summit All-Newcomer squad, has started all 31 games for ORU this season, tying Morrison's school record for starts by a freshman. A 6-8 forward, Roundtree enters this weekend's Summit League Tournament averaging 12.6 points and 6.6 rebounds per game while shooting 56.1 percent from the field and 65.1 percent from the free throw line. He leads all league newcomers in scoring and ranks second rebounds per game.
Roundtree has scored in double-figures in 22 times, and owns six double-doubles. He scored a career-high 27 points on Feb. 26 against IUPUI, and twice collected 13 rebounds. He earned Summit League player of the week honors on Feb. 28 after averaging 23 points and 12.5 rebounds in ORU's final two regular season games.
He is the highest scoring ORU freshman since the duo of Caleb Green and Ken Tutt combined to average 37.8 points during the 2003-04 season.
Morrison collects his second straight first-team all-Summit honor after leading ORU and ranking second in the league in scoring at 19.1 points per game. He also ranks among Summit leaders in free throw percentage (.781), 3-point field-goal percentage (.416) and overall field-goal percentage (.523).
Despite missing four games in early January with a knee injury, Morrison still managed to lead ORU in scoring 12 times, while also scoring 20 or more points 11 different times. Morrison twice went over 30 points, including a career-high 35 points in a win at Western Illinois on Dec. 2.
Bell-Holter enjoyed a breakout year in his first season as a starter, averaging 13.6 points and leading the Golden Eagles and ranking third in the conference with 7.8 rebounds per game. Bell-Holter also ranks third in the Summit in blocks per game (1.4) and field-goal percentage (.525).
Niles is ORU's second-leading scorer at 14.1 points per game and ranks fourth in the league in three-pointer per game (2.2). He leads ORU at the free throw line, shooting 80.8 percent.

Sutton Passes Trickey to Become Career Victories Leader
With ORU's 81-73 win over South Dakota State on Feb. 5, head coach Scott Sutton picked up his school-record 215th coaching victory, surpassing Ken Trickey (1969-74, 87-93) atop the school's coaching wins list. Sutton is currently The Summit League's active leader in career wins (221), Summit League victories (136), Summit League games coached (194) and overall career winning percentage (.591).
ORU Career Coaching Records (by victories)
Coach Years Record
Scott Sutton 1999-present 223-153 (.593)
Ken Trickey 1969-74, 1987-93 214-116 (.648)
Bill White 19865-69 65-35 (.650)
Jerry Hale 1974-77 61-21 (.744)
Bill Self 1993-97 55-54 (.505)
Ken Hayes 1979-83 50-43 (.538)
Dick Acres 1982-85 47-34 (.580)
Barry Hinson 1997-99 36-23 (.610)
Ted Owens 1985-87 21-35 (.375)
Lake Kelly 1977-79 30-24 (.556)

Stokes Returns to Action
After missing nearly two months of games and practices, junior swingman Kyron Stokes returned to game action on Thursday against IUPUI. Stokes, who missed the previous 17 games with concussion-related symptoms, played 12 minutes and came up with two assists and a steal. Stokes last played on Dec. 30 against Oakland, and was cleared to return to practice on Feb. 22. Stokes has played in five games since his return, and ORU is 4-1 in those contests.

Roundtree Named Summit League Player of the Week
Steven Roundtree was named Summit League Player of the Week for his performance during the week of Feb. 21-27. Roundtree, a freshman, garners his first career honor after recording two double-doubles and averaging 23 points and 12.5 rebounds in a pair of victories to lead the Golden Eagles to a second-place league finish. With the league's No. 2 seed at stake, Roundtree scored a career-high 27 points on 10-of-12 shooting and grabbed 12 rebounds in a key win over IUPUI. Two nights later in a victory over Western Illinois, Roundtree scored 19 points, including a 9-for-9 performance at the free throw line, and recorded a career-high 13 rebounds to extend ORU's season-long win streak to eight.
Roundtree became the first ORU freshman with a 20-point, 10-rebound game since 2003-04 and the first ORU player in two years to have 25 points and 10 rebounds in the same game. For the week, Roundtree shot 68.2 percent from the field, 94.1 percent from the free throw line and added three assists, two steals and one blocked shot.
For the season Roundtree is averaging 12.6 points and 6.6 rebounds while shooting 56.1 percent from the field.

Fun With Free Throws
After after appearing to be afraid of the free throw line in the early going this season, the Golden Eagles now embrace trips to the stripe. Over the last 26 games ORU is shooting 75.5 percent at the line following a 13-of-16 effort against Oakland on March 8. The recent efforts have finally vaulted ORU's season free throw percentage above the .700 mark (.717). ORU hasn't shot better than 70 percent in a season since the 2006-07 campaign.

At Home in Mabee Center
ORU has experienced a basketball rebirth over the last eight 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 92-18 (.836) at home and an amazing 64-9 (.877) in conference play in that time.

ORU in Summit League Play
ORU is 158-66 (.705) 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 94-24 (.797) in Summit League regular season play, and 108-27 (.800) when including Summit League Tournament games.

Eagles Eclipse Three-Point Mark in Win at South Dakota State
In a Jan. 8 win at South Dakota State, the Golden Eagles set a school-record by making 82.4 percent (14-17) of their three-pointers. It was a total team effort, as three players made four or more. Guards Warren Niles (5-5), Roderick Pearson (4-4) and Ken Holdman (4-7) combined to go 13-16, while fellow guard Hunter McClintock converted his only attempt. ORU was 4-of-6 in the first half before a near-perfect 10-11 effort in the second half. The team performance eclipsed the previous mark of .714 (10-14) set again IUPUI on Feb. 22, 2007.

Domo Arigato, Mr. Morrison
Junior forward Dominique Morrison (Domo) is enjoying another fantastic season. A preseason first-team All-Summit selection, Morrison leads the Golden Eagles and ranks third in the Summit League in scoring (19.4) while also ranking among league-leaders in field-goal percentage (.512), free throw percentage (.788) and three-point percentage (.402). Morrison has scored at least 11 points in 29 of his 30 games, including a career-high 35 points in a win at Western Illinois on Dec. 2. On Dec. 22 he became the 28th player in school history to reach 1,000 career points.

Roundtree Giving Opponents the Shaft
Freshman forward Steven Roundtree isn't "Shaft" but he would gladly risk his neck for his brother man... and his teammates. The newcomer hasn't wasted any time in having a positive impact on the Golden Eagles, and enters the Summit League Tournament averaging 12.3 points and 6.5 rebounds per game while shooting 56 percent from the field. Roundtree has scored in double figures in 23 of 34 games, owns six double-doubles and leads all Summit League newcomers in scoring while ranking second rebounding. Can you dig it?

For Whom the Bell-Holter Tolls
One of the biggest concerns surrounding the Golden Eagles when the 2010-11 season began was replacing the production of front court standout Kevin Ford. After a bumpy start, sophomore Damen Bell-Holter has more than filled the void. Entering Tuesday's Summit League championship game Bell-Holter is averaging 13.4 points and ranks among league-leaders in rebounding (7.9; 3rd) and blocked shots per game (1.5; 2nd).
On March 7, Bell-Holter blocked three shots against IUPUI and moved into the ORU season top 10 with 49 blocks. Bell-Holter owns 67 career blocks, seven shy of cracking the school career top 10.

Morrison Reaches 1,000 Points
Junior forward Dominique Morrison became the 28th player in school history to score 1,000 career points when he sank a free throw in the first half of ORU's loss to UALR on Dec. 22. With 1,385 career points, Morrison currently ranks 11th in school history in total points. He is also the 15th player in school history with over 100 career three-point field goals (107).

Craion Out for Season; Will Seek Medical Redshirt for 2010-11 Campaign
Junior forward Michael Craion will miss the remainder of the 2010-11 basketball season and will seek a medical redshirt. Craion, who played in just two games this season, has been dealing with the after-effects of right foot surgery in August. After returning to practice in October, Craion re-aggrevated the injury and missed ORU's first six games. The 2010 Summit League Newcomer of the Year and preseason first-team all-Summit selection saw limited action at Western Illinois and IUPUI, but once again re-aggrevated the injury during practice the following week. He has been inactive ever since. In two games, Craion averaged 1.5 points and 1.5 rebounds in 17 total minutes.

Freshman Roundtree Gets Opening-Day Nod
Freshman forward Steven Roundtree became just the fourth freshman in head coach Scott Sutton's 12 years to start a season opener when he joined the starting lineup at Missouri State on Nov. 12. He more than held his own, scoring 14 points on 6-of-12 shooting, while also grabbing six rebounds in 33 minutes. How did his performance stack up against the others?
Player Pos. Opponent Date Result Stats
Luke Spencer-Gardner G Nebraska Nov. 18, 2000 W, 87-83 19 pts, 6 assts, 2 stl, 38 min.
Ken Tutt G SC State Nov. 21, 2003 W, 63-60 24 pts, 6-14 FG, 4-8 3FG, 32 min.
Dominique Morrison F Tulsa Nov. 15, 2008 L, 50-43 9 pts, 3 blks, 2 rebs, 35 min.

Giant Killers
Every season since 2002-03, ORU has pulled off at least one upset of a power conference or Top 25-ranked team, and they've done it again this year. On Nov. 27 ORU handed Utah a 78-70 defeat in Salt Lake City, adding to its growing hit list.
Date Opponent Score Notes
11/26/02 Arkansas (H) 76-64 First win over Arkansas since '96
11/30/02 Wichita St. (H) 76-71 Part of 6-0 start to season
12/20/03 Wichita St. (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 St. (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 #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 St. (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 #13 New Mexico (H) 75-66 Michael Craion gets 18-13-7 as Golden Eagles roll Lobos
11/27/10 Utah (A) 78-70 Damen Bell-Holter goes for 18 points, 7 rebounds, 3 blocks
*Rainbow Classic; ^Great Alaska Shootout; %BYU Holiday Classic; &All-College Classic; *San Juan Shootout; #Cancun Challenge

Morrison Named Summit League Player of the Week
ORU's Dominique Morrison was named Summit League Player of the Week for his efforts during the week of Nov. 29-Dec. 5.
Morrison set career-highs for points, field goals and three-pointers in ORU's league opening win at Western Illinois and helped the Golden Eagles to a 2-0 start in league play with a road victory at IUPUI.
Against WIU, Morrison scored 35 points, 28 in the second half, made 14-of-18 shots (77.8 percent) and 6-of-7 (85.7 percent) from beyond the arc. Two nights later at IUPUI, he scored 11 second-half points to help rally his team to a sweep of its league road trip. Earlier in the week, Morrison scored 12 points in just 20 minutes of action at Texas Tech.
Overall, he averaged 19.3 points in 29.7 minutes per game, shot 63.9 percent from the field, 53.8 percent from three-point range, and blocked a shot in each of his team's three outings.

Sean Sutton Joins ORU Staff
Former Oklahoma State men's basketball head coach Sean Sutton has been added to the coaching staff at ORU. President Dr. Mark Rutland and men's basketball head coach Scott Sutton made the announcement at an Oct. 7 press conference on the Mabee Center arena floor.
Sean Sutton will serve as ORU's Executive Adviser to the basketball staff. In his new role Sutton will be allowed to interact with coaches during games and practices but will not be permitted to provide direct instruction to players. He is serving in an unpaid capacity.
Sean Sutton coached Oklahoma State from 2006-08 and posted a 39-29 record in his two seasons in Stillwater. He previously spent 13 seasons as an assistant to his father Eddie, who coached the Cowboys for 16 seasons. Sean Sutton also served as an assistant coach at Mississippi during the 1992-93 campaign.
With a combined 1,049 wins the Sutton's are the most successful father-son basketball coaching combination in NCAA history.
Sean Sutton is a 1992 graduate of Oklahoma State where he helped guide the Cowboys to the Sweet 16 in 1991 and 1992. He played two seasons (1987-89) at Kentucky where he was also coached by his father.
As a player and coach, Sean Sutton has been a part of 13 NCAA Tournaments, four NITs and two Final Fours.

Hankins Named Summit's Top Assistant
Longtime ORU assistant coach Tom Hankins has been named as the top assistant in the Summit League by noted basketball reporter/blogger Jeff Goodman, who conducted voting among league head coaches. Hankins is beginning his 14th season at ORU. His recruiting efforts have led to ORU signing such players as current stars Michael Craion and Dominique Morrison.

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. Defending regular-season and tournament champ Oakland received 29 of 34 first-place votes.
The Golden Eagles received three first-place votes and finished second in the poll followed by IUPUI, who received the remaining two first-place votes, in third. North Dakota State held down fourth, South Dakota State came in fifth, IPFW sixth and Western Illinois seventh. UMKC edged Southern Utah for the final spot among the top eight while Centenary rounded out the poll in tenth.

Craion, Morrison Named Preseason All-Summit League
Forwards Michael Craion and Dominique Morrison were named to the Summit League's preseason second team. Craion, the 2010 Summit League Newcomer of the Year and a second-team all-league pick a year ago, averaged 13.3 points and 7.3 rebounds as a junior. Morrison was a first-team all-league pick as a sophomore after averaging a team-best 15.3 points and 5.1 rebounds.

Kansas City Kings
The 2010-11 Golden Eagles roster contains a rarity for any program: three players from the same out-of-state city. Seniors Michael Craion (Ruskin HS) and Roderick Pearson (Raytown South HS), and junior 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).

Fox College Sports, KGEB to Broadcast All Home Games
For the third straight year Fox College Sports, along with Golden Eagle Broadcasting, will televise nearly every ORU home game. A total of 12 games will be shown on the national sports network, including all nine Summit League contests.
Fox College Sports will televise all games live nationally on cable and satellite systems across the country. ORU will again partner with Golden Eagle Broadcasting and Tulsa affiliate KGEB to televise all home games locally on a tape-delayed basis at 10:30 p.m. each game night. Golden Eagle Broadcasting will televise all games live through DirecTV channel 363. University Media Productions will handle production duties for all broadcasts.
KOTV sports anchor Chad McKee will handle the majority of play-by-play duties, with Cox Communications sports personality Mike Wolfe serving as fill-in. Former Golden Eagle standout Mickey Michalec and veteran analyst Bryndon Manzer return for their third seasons as color commentators.

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 fourth full season as the play-by-play voice of the Golden Eagles. Fans can also listen on-line at www.orugoldeneagles.com. The pregame show begins 15 minutes prior to tip-off. Join ORU coaches and athletes every Tuesday from 6-7 p.m. for the ORU Coaches Hour, broadcast live from Rib Crib at 81st & Yale 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".

About The Summit League
Now in its 29th year as an NCAA Division I athletics conference, The Summit League is in its fourth year under that name. In May 2007, the Presidents Council embraced the Summit Plan, a strategic plan that places a renewed emphasis on improving the academic and athletic performances of all its student-athletes. Included in the plan was the creation of a new image of the conference and the unveiling of a new name. The Summit League is the third name the conference has held as an NCAA sanctioned league.
The Summit League's 10 member schools are Centenary College of Louisiana, IPFW, IUPUI, UMKC, North Dakota State, Oakland, ORU, South Dakota State, Southern Utah and Western Illinois. The member schools pride themselves on providing quality athletic, academic and social experiences for their student-athletes.
The Summit League sponsors 19 sports, which include: baseball, men's and women's basketball, men's & women's cross country, men's & women's golf, men's & women's soccer, softball, men's & women's swimming & diving, men's & women's indoor & outdoor track & field, men's and women's tennis and volleyball. The League offices are in suburban Chicago.