Dec. 7, 2008
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ROCHESTER, Mich. - Senior Erik Kangas became the eighth player in the Division I era to reach 1,000 points, finishing with a season-high 22, and redshirt sophomore Keith Benson scored 17 points and grabbed nine rebounds, to lead Oakland University (5-5) past Toledo (2-6), 67-58, on Sunday in the Golden Grizzlies' home opener inside the Athletics Center O'Rena.
"I'm really proud of these young men," said OU coach Greg Kampe. "We have been on the road for so long, I didn't even want to go to practice yesterday, so imagine how they felt. And for them to score on 13 of our last 14 possessions is amazing."
The Golden Grizzlies outscored the Rockets 16-0 from the free throw line. Oakland also won the battle of the boards in the game 38-33.
Freshman Drew Maynard scored 12 points for the Grizzlies off the bench and grabbed five rebounds, while fellow freshman Blake Cushingberry knocked down a deep 3-pointer with just over four minutes left to give OU a seven-point lead, 56-49 (4:05), finishing 1-for-4 from the floor.
Oakland led the entire first half but the Rockets started the second half with a 7-0 run and grabbed their first lead at 31-30 just five minutes into the half. The lead then changed hands seven times over the next 10 minutes until Benson made a pair of free throws with 5:43 remaining in the game to give OU its final lead 48-46.
The Golden Grizzlies then ran an efficient offense, scoring on 13 of its final 14 possessions to close out the Rockets in the O'Rena in front of 2,315 fans. OU only committed 10 fouls in the game as Toledo did not have a single attempt from the free throw line.
"I don't know if I have ever seen that in my career," said Kampe. "It probably means we weren't that aggressive on defense."
Kangas, a native of DeWitt, Mich., currently stands at 1,015 points for his career. He reached that plateau in 93 games for the Golden Grizzlies.
"I didn't even realize I was that close and when they said that (over the public address) I was shocked," said Kangas. "It's something that was a goal of mine when I came here."
The Rockets were led by Jonathon Amos who finished with a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Tyrone Kent added 13 points for the Rockets, while Anthony Byrd had 12.
Oakland will have a week off before taking on Rochester College on Sunday, Dec. 14, at 2 p.m. inside the O'Rena. The game can be followed on OU's student radio station WXOU (88.3 FM) or at www.ougrizzlies.com.
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