Eagles final-bound - Tulsa World (3-7-2006)

[ORUTerry]

Mid-Con Tournament: ORU 77, Valpraiso 58: Eagles final-bound

By MIKE BROWN World Sports Writer

3/7/2006

ORU dismantles Valpo in semis

The Oral Roberts basketball team turned up the heat on the defensive end -- way, way up.

Then it unleashed its two-time Mid-Continent Conference Player of the Year.

Junior forward Caleb Green scored 15 of the Eagles' first 17 points of the second half and had a game-high 23, leading the top-seeded Eagles to a 77-58 win over fourth-seeded Valparaiso in Monday's semifinals of the Mid-Con championships at the Union Multipurpose Activity Center.

Senior forward Larry Owens chipped in 18 points and senior guard Jonathan Bluitt added 17 as the Eagles (20-11) reached its second straight championship game.

The Eagles are back where they started 364 days ago, one win from the school's first NCAA Tournament berth since 1984. But Oakland (Mich.) dashed their dreams in last year's final.

"Last year, when we won that second game, we thought we were here," Green said. "So this doesn't feel like a relief. We know there's a hump we haven't got over yet. Right now, it feels like we're on a mission. That's what it feels like."

Sixth-seeded Chicago State upset second-seeded Indiana-Purdue 57-53, and will face the Eagles in Tuesday's 6 p.m. ESPN-televised final.

"We've got one more game of unfinished business," said Bluitt, who scored 11 of his points and dished three of his four assists in the second half. "That's what the whole year has been about. That's what we've been working for, all the two-a-day practices and lifting cars, whatever it took to get us back to where we are (Tuesday). We're looking forward to it."

ORU bottled up Valpo's guards, forced 16 turnovers that turned into 26 points and held the high-scoring Crusaders to their second-lowest point total of the season. Valpo's 79.5-point scoring average led the Mid-Con through the regular season.

"We just took pride in guarding those guys and doing what we could to force them to take bad shots," Bluitt said.

Dan Oppland and Mohamed Kone scored 18 each for the Crusaders, but guards Jimmie Miles, Jarryd Loyd and Ron Howard were held to a combined 14 points on 5-of-21 shooting. The trio combined for 36 points in Sunday's first-round win over Southern Utah.

The 5-foot-9 Bluitt also dictated the tempo while playing 36 minutes and scored seven points in a span that helped the Eagles put the game out of reach. Not bad for a guy who was hobbled by an injured ankle and played only 15 minutes in Saturday's first-round win over Western Illinois.

"He played his heart out. He's just a warrior," said head coach Scott Sutton. "He made big shot after big shot and I think he only took one shot the other night. I'm really proud of the way J.B. played."

Bluitt scored seven points in a brief span that helped the Eagles pull away. It was 52-41 after Green's three-point play with 10:42 left and Bluitt went to work.

First, he drove for a layup. After a 3-pointer by ORU's Ken Tutt, he dribbled into the middle, froze everyone by faking a pass to the corner, and shot deftly over the 6-8 Oppland. Crusader coach Homer Drew called it "a dagger when we thought we could get some momentum."

Then Bluitt hit a 3-pointer and it was 62-45 with 6:36 left.

Valpo scored the game's first seven points, but ORU regrouped with a fury. Treys by Tutt and Larry Owens and turnovers leading to a pair of Owens breakaway baskets keyed a run that carried the Eagles to a 28-14 lead with 7:51 left in the first half.

The Eagles made 12 of their first 17 shots and buckled down on defense. Bluitt said the inspiration came from Owens, who twice slid over from the weak side to take charges from the 6-11 Kone.

Kone and Oppland held Green in check through most of the first half, which ended with the Crusaders down five points. But Green got loose to start the second half. He scored on a succession of drives and bank shots down the right side of the lane.