ORU Notebook - Tulsa World (3-5-2006)

[ORUTerry]

ORU Notebook

By MIKE BROWN World Sports Writer

3/5/2006

Go for gold:

ORU wore its new gold uniforms for the third time this season, but the first time since its 88-76 December loss to Missouri State.

"I almost didn't let (the players) wear 'em again, but I figured sooner or later we were probably going to have to," Sutton said.

What will he do with them after Saturday's performance?

"Probably put 'em back in the closet until next year," Sutton said with a chuckle.

Marked man:

Caleb Green was surrounded by tall trees, with 6-foot-9 Eliz Cepeda playing behind him and 6-foot-7 NaVonta Kentle and 6-foot-8 Freg Oguns sagging off their men.

"They're tough defensively. They sag back and make you hit jump shots. The shots I did make were highly contested," said Green.

As one example in the second half, Green jumped around his first defender and leaned almost sideways between two others to hook a ball into the basket.

Climb the ladder:

With 14 rebounds, Green passed Valparaiso's Raitis Grafs (1999-03) to move into fifth place in all-time Mid-Con rebounding. Green has 853. Fourth-place Kevin Duckworth of Eastern Illinois (1982-86) had 872.

Follow the leader:

Saturday's win was Scott Sutton's 119th, tying him with Indiana-Purdue's

Ron Hunter for all-time Mid-Con coaching wins. But Hunter moved back ahead with his 120th when the second-seeded Jagaurs beat Oakland later Saturday.

Man to watch:

Southern Utah coach Bill Evans likes the versatility of ORU senior forward Larry Owens, the Mid-Con Defensive Player of the Year.

"I think he's really good. He's disruptive at the defensive end and he's picked it up offensively this year. He's looking to score more," Evans said.

"I told my friend, a Utah Jazz scout, to watch for him. If you snooze on Larry Owens, you're making a big mistake. I think (Owens) should get invited to the Portsmouth (Va.) Invitational (an NBA pre-draft camp)."