Feb. 14, 2009
Box Score | Quotes | Notes | Photo Gallery 
ROCHESTER, Mich. - Sophomore Keith Benson scored a game-high 23 points to go with nine rebounds and six blocks, freshman Blake Cushingberry recorded his first double-double with a career-high 14 points and 10 rebounds, and junior Johnathon Jones dished out a career-high 15 assists to lead Oakland University (16-11, 9-5) by IPFW (10-15, 5-9), 83-72, on Saturday night inside the Athletics Center O'Rena.
"Any win is a good win," said OU coach Greg Kampe. "I thought it was an ugly game at times, but we are playing like we are unbeatable at home and that is nice to see."
Jones broke the Division I school record of 14 assists set by Mychal Covington on Feb. 21, 2002 at Valparaiso. Benson tied the all-time blocks record with 101 in just two seasons and the Golden Grizzlies tied the season record in blocks with 120 this year. Oakland also pushed its school record home winning streak to 11 games.
Freshman Drew Maynard scored 13 points for the Grizzlies, going 3-for-4 from three-point range, and senior Erik Kangas added 13 points on 3 of 7 shooting from long range. Sophomore Will Hudson scored eight points and grabbed three rebounds, while senior Dan Waterstradt grabbed seven boards to go with four points.
The Golden Grizzlies led for the entire first half and took just a three-point edge into halftime, 37-34. The Mastodons took their only lead of the game, 48-47, with just under 15 minutes left. OU countered with a 12-0 run over the next three minutes and pushed its lead all the way to 15 points with just under two minutes left in the game to cruise to an 11-point win.
Oakland outscored the Mastodons 44-24 in the paint. The Golden Grizzlies also shot a season-best 62 percent (33-53) from the floor and connected on 8 of 16 shots from behind the arc, pushing their record to 12-0 when they shoot 40 percent or better from long range.
Senior David Carson led IPFW with 18 points, while sophomore Ben Botts and junior Deilvez Yearby both scored 13 for the Mastodons.
The Golden Grizzlies will hit the road for the final time this regular season next week. OU will face Western Illinois next Thursday, Feb. 19, in Macomb, Ill., and will take on IUPUI on Saturday, Feb. 21, in Indianapolis, Ind.
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