Feb. 26, 2011
Box Score | Notes
Oakland 82, Southern Utah 68
CEDAR CITY, Utah |
|
|
|
| 1st | 2nd | Final | Southern Utah
| 24 | 44
| 68
| Oakland
| 38
| 44
| 82
|
| |
Stats at a Glance
| SUU
| OU
| • Field Goal Pct.
| 43.1% | 38.7%
| • Three-Point Pct.
| 33.3% | 24.0%
| • Free Throw Pct.
| 60.0% | 73.7% | • Rebounds
| 37 | 49 | • Turnovers
| 15
| 18
| | • Steals | 6
| 12
| • Blocks
| 7
| 4 |
|
|
CEDAR CITY, Utah - Seniors Keith Benson and Will Hudson each had double-doubles and Oakland University (22-9, 17-1) survived a 39 percent shooting night (24-62) to defeat Southern Utah University (11-18, 7-11), 82-68, in The Summit League regular-season finale on Saturday night inside Centrum Arena.
"To win 17 games in two straight seasons in this league and the travel that is involved is pretty incredible," said OU coach Greg Kampe. "We did not play well offensively, but we defended and rebounded tonight to get the victory."
Hudson finished with a team-high 16 points and 10 rebounds, while Benson added 13 points and 11 rebounds. Benson blocked four shots in the game to set a new single-season school record with 119, breaking his record of 117 set last year.
Senior Larry Wright and sophomore Ledrick Eackles each scored 10 points for the Golden Grizzlies.
Ramell Taylor led the Thunderbirds with 15 points and eight rebounds, while Ryan Brimley and Jackson Stevenett added 13 and 12 points, respectively.
Oakland won the battle on the glass, 49-37, and tallied 22 second-chance points thanks to 20 offensive rebounds. Sophomore Drew Valentine led the team on the boards with 12 to go with his seven points.
The Golden Grizzlies trailed 22-17 late in the first half, but outscored the Thunderbirds 21-2 over the final 6 minutes and led 38-24 at halftime. OU would never trail again, extending the lead all the way to 25 points (14:31) before winning by 14.
OU has now won 42 consecutive league games when leading at the intermission. The Golden Grizzlies also tied their own Summit League record for wins (17) and winning percentage (.944) set last season. Oakland is 34-2 over the last two seasons in league play, the best of any team in the country.
OU will be the No. 1 seed at The Summit League tournament, March 5-8, in Sioux Falls, S.D. The Golden Grizzlies will face No. 8 seed Southern Utah in the quarterfinals on Saturday, March 5. Tip is slated for 7 p.m. ET inside Sioux Falls Arena.
-OAKLAND-
