ORUTerry Posted February 17, 2006 Share Posted February 17, 2006 Eagles win physical game By MIKE BROWN World Sports Writer 2/17/2006 ORU overpowers tough UMKC to clinch No. 2 seed in Mid-Continent tournament. It was more brawl than basketball game that took place at the Mabee Center on Thursday night, but Oral Roberts senior center Mickey Michalec said it wasn't that unusual. "It was a tough, physical game," Michalec said. "The same thing happened when we played them up there. These schools have a history of playing hard against each other. The officials were doing their best to keep the game under control." A three-man officiating crew beeped 34 second-half fouls and 49 fouls overall in the Golden Eagles' 86-79 win to clinch the No. 2 seed in the upcoming Mid-Continent Conference tournament. Officials watched television replays before assessing double technical fouls when Michalec and UMKC's Dee Ayuba did little more than snarl at one another in the second half. Michalec had already collected his fourth foul on the play and the technical was his fifth, sending him to the bench with 12:01 to play. "Mickey has to keep his composure in that situation," said ORU coach Scott Sutton. "If it's a closer game, (losing Michalec) could have been a huge blow to us." ORU had whipped the Kangaroos physically in their 74-56 January win in Kansas City, and UMKC's players seemed intent on dishing out as good as they got. "We learned a lot from that game," said UMKC coach Rich Zvosec. A few minutes after the double technicals, ORU's Chris Riouse and UMKC's Dane Brumagin scuffled for a loose ball and referee J.D. Collins raced in, wrapped his arms around Riouse and carried him some 30 feet across the court, apparently thinking it necessary to prevent an altercation. ORU shot 32 second-half foul shots, with Caleb Green hitting 11-of-17 on the way to a team-high 22 points. Somewhere along the way, a basketball game got played. ORU led from start to finish to beat the Kangaroos in the Mabee Center for the first time in four years. But what could have been an easy win got ugly at the end. UMKC's Quinton Day scored 26 of his game-high 27 points in the second half as the Kangaroos outscored the Eagles 49-44 over the final 20 minutes. ORU led by as many as 21 in the second half, but the Kangaroos chopped the deficit to seven, the last time coming on Day's layup with seven seconds left. "It's been kind of our theme all year, where we build big leads and have to hang on for dear life. I hope it doesn't cost us a game down the stretch," Sutton said. "It's something that frustrates us. We get a team down, we can't give them any hope. Their kids kept fighting and they outplayed us the last 10 or 12 minutes, but again, I'm happy to get a win." The Eagles could have spent more time bragging on a 55-percent shooting night and a solid offensive effort, with assists on 20 of their 30 baskets, including seven from Jonathan Bluitt and six from Larry Owens. The powerful, versatile Owens had another of his do-everything nights, notching his fourth double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds, plus three steals and two blocked shots in 36 minutes. Owens rebounded a Green missed foul shot and went straight back up for a thundering dunk with 4:30 left, one of the plays that discouraged UMKC's comeback. Green just missed a league-leading 12th double-double, with nine rebounds. Bluitt had 17 points on 5-of-9 shooting with two treys. Michalec and Riouse each scored 12, with Riouse hitting three treys off the bench. ORU (16-10, 11-3) gave itself a two-game lead over UMKC (11-13, 8-5) for the No. 2 seed and owns the tiebreaker with its first season sweep of the Kangaroos in four years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORUTerry Posted February 17, 2006 Author Share Posted February 17, 2006 UMKC loses opportunityStar News Services TULSA, Okla. ? UMKC?s quest for a second-place finish in the Mid-Continent Conference and a day off in the conference tournament is over. The Kangaroos can do no better than third after Thursday night?s 86-79 loss to Oral Roberts at the Mabee Center. Quinton Day led all scorers with 27 points, and UMKC shot 50.8 percent from the field, but it wasn?t enough against a balanced Golden Eagle attack. Caleb Green led five Oral Roberts players in double figures with 22 points. The Golden Eagles, 16-10 and 11-3 in the conference, beat UMKC, 11-13 and 8-5, for the second time this season, giving Oral Roberts the tie breaker should the teams finish tied in the standings. Both teams have three games remaining Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.