Owens' 21 help lift ORU past Grizzlies - TW (1-20-06)

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Owens' 21 help lift ORU past Grizzlies

By MIKE BROWN World Sports Writer

1/20/2006

Eagle teams with Bluitt to combine for 33 versus Oakland.

Larry Owens and Jonathan Bluitt are stepping up in a big way for the Oral Roberts University basketball team.

The seniors combined for 33 points, leading the Golden Eagles to a 74-63 win over Oakland (Mich.) Thursday night in the first meeting since the visitors upset ORU in last year's Mid-Continent Conference Tournament.

Owens scored 21, Caleb Green had 17 and Bluitt added 12 as the Eagles overcame a combined 48 points by Oak land's Calvin Wooten (26) and Shawn Hopes (22). The 6-foot-7, 275-pound Hopes' total was a career high.

Bluitt downed 4-of-7 shots from 3-point range, going 4-of-5 before missing twice late in the game at the end of possessions as the Eagles ran down the shot clock.

It was Bluitt's second straight game to give the Eagles a boost in offense with junior guard Ken Tutt sidelined by an injured right foot. Bluitt made two 3-pointers, scored a season-high 15 points and dished a season-high nine rebounds in Saturday's win over Indiana-Purdue.

"I've been working on my game, but I've just really want ed to put us in a position to win night in and night out -- whether that means stepping up and hitting jump shots or distributing the ball," Bluitt said.

Green's point total was his lowest in a month, but the 6-foot-7 Owens picked up the slack with his third 21-point outing in his past five games. Owens dished the Grizzlies with rebounds (six), steals (three) and dunks. He also dished three assists.

Owens averages 11.2 points overall but is scoring 15.3 in Mid-Con play.

"I've said over and over again that we go as Larry goes," Green said. "He gives us that energy. When he plays well, we're a contender. If he plays like he did tonight, this team can go real far."

ORU coach Scott Sutton said Owens is playing his way into first-team, all-conference consideration.

"We've been trying since the start of the season to get him to be more aggressive," Sutton said. "He is unassuming and a great teammate, but with Ken getting hurt, I guess he's realized (he) needs to step up and be more productive. If there's a better five in the Mid-Con, I haven't seen it."

ORU (10-8, 5-1) kept pace with IUPUI atop the conference race and gained a game on Valparaiso, which lost at Chicago State and fell out of first place. IUPUI won at home over Centenary and hosts fourth-place Missouri-Kansas City on Saturday night.

The Eagles mounted a swarming defensive effort in the first half, forced 12 turnovers and led by as many as 16 points. The game was never out of reach because of Wooten, who made 6-of-11 treys among his 26 points, and Hopes, who made 9-of-10 from close range.

Oakland coach Greg Kampe was pleased with how his inexperienced team regrouped and stayed in the game in the sec ond half, although the Grizzlies (7-12, 2-5) never got closer than seven. None of Kampe's five starters was in uniform for the Grizzlies last year. Oakland has played its best ball of the season the past week.

"I'm pretty pleased with how much better we're getting," Kampe said. "We were atrocious offensively in the first half, but we gathered ourselves at halftime and ran a lot more sets where I dictated what had to happen. We're not ready to come into a place like this, against this caliber of ballclub, and run up and down the floor with them. Maybe by the middle of the next year."

What about by tournament time this year?

"We had Rawle Marshall and Cortney Scott last year, and they're both playing professionally," Kampe said. "I don't see that out there this year, but I do like our team."