January wins set season - TW (3-22-2006)

[ORUTerry]

January wins set season

By MIKE BROWN World Sports Writer

3/22/2006

Turning point for ORU was two road victories in January.

Two games in January that didn't seem like much at the time were among the most important of Oral Roberts University's basketball season.

Coming off four straight nonconference road losses, the Golden Eagles opened Mid-Continent play with wins at Southern Utah and Chicago State.

Each had only one win at the time. But each proved to be one of the Mid-Con's most surprising teams in 2006.

They were the same road foes Indiana-Purdue couldn't beat in the last week of the regular season, allowing ORU to tie for the conference title.

The early-January road wins also represented a turning point.

"They were huge," ORU coach Scott Sutton said. "They got us off to a 2-0 (conference) start, and we were able to get some confidence back and build some momentum. They were probably the most important wins until we got to the later part of the season."

It wasn't the first or last time the Eagles (21-12) were forced to regroup by challenging circumstances. Their nonconference schedule ranked among the nation's toughest, and injuries sidelined several key players. Ken Tutt, Chris Riouse and Jonathan Bluitt missed 10, seven and three games, respectively.

The Eagles played through every rough spot to claim the school's first NCAA Tournament berth in 22 years. It can be debated whether last year's 25-8 team was better or more successful overall -- or whether the 2006 team, with most of the same players, underachieved.

But there was no comparison in the way the teams finished. ORU's season ended not in the misery of a last-second loss in the conference tournament but in celebration.

"As good as last year's team was, all people wanted to talk about was what happened at the end," Sutton said, referring to the 2005 loss to Oakland (Mich.) in the Mid-Con championship game.

"This team played its best at the end, and I think that's how it will be remembered. Did we play as well as I thought we would early on? No. Did we fight through injuries and adversity? Absolutely, and I'm proud of how our kids responded."

ORU's season reached a low point with successive December losses at Louisiana-Lafayette, Utah State, Oklahoma and Minnesota. Louisiana-Lafayette shot 61.5 percent, high for an Eagle foe all season, to win 95-74. Utah State won 65-64 on two foul shots with 4.4 seconds left.

The Eagles gained confidence in an 81-73 loss at nationally ranked OU by leading in the second half and having a chance to win until the closing minutes. They gained more confidence in a 67-54 loss at Minnesota by staying in the game despite shooting a season-low 33.3 percent.

The wins at Southern Utah and Chicago State were the first of 16 in the final 21 games. Another low came in the 70-65 loss at eighth-place Western Illinois, but the Eagles refocused to win five straight.

ORU had to regroup again after traveling thousands of miles to endure an 88-74 BracketBusters thrashing by Montana, which upset Nevada in an NCAA first-round game.

After the Montana loss, the Eagles again peeled off five straight wins, ending with the Mid-Con title.

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Mike Brown 581-8390

mike.brown@tulsaworld.com

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Number, Player GP-GS FG-ATT PCT 3pt-Att PCT FT-ATT PCT AST REB PTS PPG

30 Caleb Green 33-33 224-425 52.7 3-10 30.0 235-308 76.3 53 290 686 20.8

04 Larry Owens 33-33 156-298 54.0 20-55 36.4 80-123 65.0 104 261 412 12.5

01 Ken Tutt 23-18 110-279 39.4 52-124 41.9 54-65 83.1 53 47 326 14.2

45 Mickey Michalec 33-30 93-207 44.9 3-8 37.5 27-37 73.0 52 1423 216 6.5

14 Jonathan Bluitt 30-29 62-169 36.7 39-108 36.1 51-69 73.9 124 56 214 7.1

02 Chris Riouse 26-0 69-149 46.3 57-123 46.3 9-15 60.0 21 27 204 7.8

13 Moses Ehambe 24-0 35-92 38.0 30-73 41.1 7-10 70.0 9 28 107 4.5

10 Marchello Vealy 30-0 44-90 48.9 1-13 07.7 10-25 40.0 18 83 99 3.3

52 Yemi Ogunoye 33-17 37-86 43.0 1-9 11.1 19-36 52.8 41 94 94 2.8

22 Eric Fowlkes 30-4 26-59 44.1 4-12 33.3 23-40 57.5 42 45 79 2.6

33 Andrew Meloy 18-1 10-38 26.3 8-25 32.0 7-8 87.5 11 25 35 1.9

Total 33 866-1883 46.0 218-560 38.9 522-736 70.9 528 1215 2472 74.9

Opponent 33 819-1867 43.9 182-518 35.1 428-621 68.0 371 1059 2248 68.1

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ORU'S 2005-06 SEASON SCORES

Nov. 19: Utah State, 72-67 OT (L)

Nov. 23: So. California 68-48 (W)

Nov. 25: Marquette, 73-70 (L)

Nov. 26: Monmouth, 62-54 (W)

Nov. 29: St. Gregory's, 90-52 (W)

Dec. 3: Tulsa, 68-52 (W)

Dec. 7: Missouri State 88-76 (L)

Dec. 11: No. Colorado 79-66 (W)

Dec. 15: La.-Lafayette 95-74 (L)

Dec. 20: Utah State 65-64 (L)

Dec. 28: Oklahoma 81-73 (L)

Dec. 31: Minnesota 67-54 (L)

Jan. 2: Chicago State 74-65 (W)

Jan. 4: Southern Utah 84-79 (W)

Jan. 7: Western Illinois 83-66 (W)

Jan. 9: Valparaiso 80-60 (L)

Jan. 14:IUPUI, 86-76 (W)

Jan. 19: Oakland 74-63 (W)

Jan. 24: Western Illinois 70-65 (L)

Jan. 26: Centenary 74-53 (W)

Jan. 30: UMKC 74-56 (W)

Feb. 2: Southern Utah 89-57 (W)

Feb. 4: Chicago State 69-58 (W)

Feb. 9: Oakland 90-53 (W)

Feb. 11: IUPUI 80-75 (L)

Feb. 16: UMKC 86-79 (W)

Feb. 18: Montana 88-74 (L)

Feb. 23: Centenary 83-57 (W)

Feb. 25: Valparaiso 87-78 (W)

MID-CONTINENT TOURNAMENT

Mar. 4: Western Illinois 60-53 (W)

Mar. 6: Valparaiso 77-58 (W)

Mar. 7: Chicago State 85-72 (W)

NCAA TOURNAMENT

Mar. 17: Memphis 94-78 (L)