Feb. 21, 2009
Box Score | Notes
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - Freshman Blake Cushingberry scored a career-high 24 points, junior Johnathon Jones tied a career high with 15 assists, sophomore Keith Benson added 18 points and senior Erik Kangas added 17 points as the Oakland University men's basketball team (18-11, 11-5 Summit League) held off a furious late rally by the IUPUI Jaguars (15-13), winning 81-76 on Saturday night at The Jungle.
Jones now has 65 assists over his past five games and has tallied ten or more assists in five consecutive games. His 15 assists tonight gives him 528 and moves him past Mychal Covington (1998-02, 514 career blocks) into second place on OU's all-time charts. Additionally, Kangas drilled four 3-pointers tonight to give him 112 on the season, breaking his own single-season record of 109 set during the 2006-07 season.
"Once (IUPUI head coach Ron) Hunter got those technical fouls I told my team that was the worst thing that could happen," said head coach Greg Kampe. "We were up by 15 or something like that, and then they got emotion and I knew things would go against us from that point on."
Oakland opened scoring on the opening possession as Drew Maynard hit a long-range 3-pointer just eight seconds into the contest. The Golden Grizzlies would keep the lead in single digits until Keith Benson's layup at the 7:22 mark gave OU a 27-16 lead. Oakland led by as many as 13 (42-49) down the stretch, but IUPUI closed the opening half on a 7-0 run to pull to within six (42-36) at halftime.
The Jaguars narrowed the gap to three (44-41) just under three minutes into the half, but the Golden Grizzlies went on a 11-0 run to take a 14-point lead (55-41) at the 14:48 mark. The Golden Grizzlies lead was as many as 20 (65-45) at the 11:41 mark before IUPUI began a furious late rally, outscoring OU 29-12 over the next ten minutes and pulling to within three points (77-74) with just over a minute remaining.
However, Oakland took advantage of a late foul with just over 22 seconds remaining that sent Cushingberry to the line. The freshman calmly nailed a pair of free throws to push the OU lead to five (79-74). IUPUI made a turnover on the following possession and the Jaguars were forced to foul, sending Kangas to the charity stripe.
Kangas converted on both tries to give OU a seven-point lead, and the Golden Grizzlies held on for the victory.
Sophomore Will Hudson led OU with nine rebounds, while Benson added three blocks to continue to add to his single-season and career record-setting totals.
The Golden Grizzlies will return to action on Thursday, Feb. 26, as they play host to Southern Utah at the Athletics Center O'Rena. A 7 p.m. tip is scheduled.
