Bogus Smith Posted February 26, 2006 Share Posted February 26, 2006 ORU continues home hex over VU Crusaders now 0-10 at Mabee Center Times Staff Report MEN'S BASKETBALL | VALPARAISO Oral Roberts University's home domination over Valparaiso continued in the final Mid-Continent Conference regular-season game for both schools. The Golden Eagles extended their home winning streak at the Mabee Center over the Crusaders to 10 straight games as forward Caleb Green recorded game-highs of 27 points and 15 rebounds to lead ORU to an 87-78 win Saturday night. Dan Oppland recorded team-highs of 25 points and 12 rebounds to lead Valpo, while Ron Howard and Ali Berdiel each scored 16. The Crusaders (16-11, 8-8 ) had 17 turnovers -- 11 in the first half -- and converted only 60 percent of their free throws (18-of-30). The 11 first-half turnovers hampered the Crusaders as Oral Roberts (18-11, 13-3) took a 38-35 halftime lead. "We missed several one-and-ones and missed two front ends and that was when we were down seven, so that hurt us,'' VU head coach Homer Drew said. "But I was pleased with our execution down the stretch and pleased with how we battled and fought.'' The Golden Eagles led 69-56 with just over six minutes left, but the Crusaders kept battling and chipping away at the lead. A 3-pointer by Seth Colclasure, who hit a trio of 3s over a four-minute span, pulled Valpo within 69-63. Oral Roberts built the lead back to 11 points at 77-66 with 1:58 to go, but two more 3s by Colclasure sandwiched around a Mickey Michalec basket knocked the Golden Eagles' lead back down to 79-72. Valpo couldn't get any closer. "We played hard and we played well,'' Drew said. "We played 40 minutes of very, very solid basketball as far as our effort and intensity.'' Howard and Mohamed Kone both fouled out, while Oppland and Moussa Mbaye each had four fouls. "Oral Roberts fouling out Kone and Howard were keys that really hurt us,'' Drew said. Another key for ORU was the return of Ken Tutt. The All-Conference guard missed the first meeting with Valpo after breaking a bone in his foot, but scored 18 points on 6-of-11 shooting Saturday night. Larry Owens also finished in double-figures for ORU with 16 points. Valparaiso's Mid-Con Tournament opponent will be Southern Utah which beat IUPUI at 6 p.m. on March 5. Saturday night's game was Drew's 900th of his career Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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