Feb. 4, 2010

Box Score | Quotes | Notes |

ROCHESTER, Mich. - Senior Derick Nelson scored a season-high 28 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, while junior Keith Benson posted 16 points, seven rebounds and five blocks, to lead Oakland University (17-8, 11-1) to its 16th straight league win at home with a 75-64 victory over Centenary College (8-15, 2-10) in Summit League men's basketball action on Thursday inside the Athletics Center O'Rena.

"I thought we played well defensively over the final 11 minutes of the first half," said OU coach Greg Kampe. "Their coach (Greg Gary) had them ready and they played hard for the entire game."

The Golden Grizzlies struggled through a 37 percent effort from the floor (23-62) by holding the Gents to just 32 percent from the field (18-56). OU outrebounded Centenary 48-34, and grabbed a season-high 21 offensive boards.

Also in double figures for Oakland was junior Larry Wright with 10 points. Junior Will Hudson came off the bench for the first time this season and tallied eight points and eight rebounds, while senior Johnathon Jones dished out a season-high 13 assists, scored eight points and had four steals.

The Golden Grizzlies trailed 20-8 with just over 10 minutes left in the first half. OU would then use a 9-0 run over a two-minute span and outscored the Gents 25-9 over the final 10 minutes to take a 33-29 lead at the break.

Oakland would not relinquish the lead for the rest of the game and built an 18-point advantage, 50-32, with 13:29 left in the game. The Gents fought back with a 16-1 run and got as close as three points, 51-48, with 8:10 on the clock. The Grizzlies increased their lead back to 10 points thanks to a pair of free throws and a 3-pointer by Nelson, 58-48 (6:57).

Centenary got within three points on two different occasions over the final five minutes as they trailed 62-59 with 3:06 left in the contest, but Nelson drained two 3-pointers and Benson added a basket to push the lead back to 11 points and defeat the Gents by that same margin.

Leading Centenary was Matt Marseille with 20 points, while Jerrald Bonham recorded a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Daman Starring tallied 15 points for the Gents.

Oakland will host Oral Roberts (14-10, 9-3) for Homecoming on Saturday. Game time is set for 6 p.m. and will air on OU's flagship station WDFN-AM (1130) with Mario Impemba (play by play) and Tom Negoshian (color).

-30-