Jan. 21, 2010
Box Score | Notes
FARGO, N.D. - Junior Keith Benson had a double-double with 22 points and 12 rebounds, going 6-for-6 from the free throw line over the final 59 seconds, and freshman Ledrick Eackles finished with 18 points to lead Oakland University (14-7) to its eighth straight win, 85-79, over North Dakota State University (6-11, 3-4) in Summit League men's basketball action at the Bison Sports Arena.
"We made some big free throws down the stretch and (Keith) Benson came up big late," said OU coach Greg Kampe who won his 100th Summit League game tonight. "Give them credit because we were up 15 points and they could have easily quit, they didn't and we held on."
Senior Johnathon Jones finished with 16 points and eight assists (1 turnover), while fellow senior Derick Nelson posted 10 points for the Golden Grizzlies. Junior Larry Wright went 3-for-6 from beyond the arc and finished the game with 13 points, pushing OU's record to 9-1 when he reaches double figures.
The Grizzlies have now won 15 consecutive Summit League games and are just one shy of the conference record of 16, held by Cleveland State (1992, `93). OU's 8-0 start in league play is the best-ever in school history.
The Golden Grizzlies began the game with 3-pointers from Wright and Jones and Oakland took an early 15-4 lead. The Bison used a 6-0 run to climb back into the game as the lead shrunk to three points, 19-16, with less than 10 minutes left until halftime. Eackles continued to shine for OU off the bench with a pair of treys and scored a team-high 14 first-half points to give the Grizzlies an 11-point lead at the break, 41-30.
NDSU scored five quick points out of the locker room to slice the lead back down to six points, but Wright responded with an 18-foot jumper and junior Will Hudson added an offensive board and put back to extend the lead back to 10 points. A 12-2 run by Oakland provided the Golden Grizzlies with some separation as they had their largest lead of the game at 15, 65-50 (9:35).
The Bison used a 13-4 run and actually climbed within one possession, 73-70, with just over three minutes left in the game and got a big defensive stop at the other end. The Grizzlies committed a foul and NDSU converted 1 of 2 free throws to creep within two points, 73-71. Jones launched a 3-pointer at the other end that went in and out, and Austin Pennick was fouled at the opposite end with a chance to tie the game at the charity stripe, but missed both free throws.
Benson then provided Oakland with a monster dunk and a big basket, but the Bison got a layup at the other end to once again get back within two. Benson was then fouled with 59 seconds remaining and made both free throws to advance the lead back to four points, 77-73. A big steal by Jones led to a Nelson fast break layup at the other end with 44.3 seconds to go, as the lead grew back to six points, 79-73.
After a pair of free throws by Michael Tveidt, Benson was fouled on the in bounds play and once again delivered both shots from the free throw line. With 25 seconds left, OU was guarding against a 3-pointer and NDSU took it in for the easy layup and called timeout. Oakland was able to waste almost 10 seconds out of the timeout, before Benson was fouled under the basket and continued to shine with two more makes and push the lead back to six, 83-77. After another made basket by the Bison, Jones made the final two free throws of the game, extending his school record streak to 40, and held off the Bison by a final margin of six points.
"Every game like this makes you better because you learn from it," said Kampe.
The big three for the Bison all reached double figures, led by Tveidt's 21. Josh Vaughan added 17 points, while Eric Carlson tallied 16 points for NDSU.
The Golden Grizzlies will continue their road trip at South Dakota State on Saturday, Jan. 23. Game time is set for 8:30 p.m. ET and will air on OU's flagship station WDFN-AM (1130) with Neal Ruhl on the call.
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