Unbelievable!

Oakland rallies past Golden Eagles in overtime
By Samantha Franz
Sports Editor

Last night's regular season closer taught those in attendance three very important lessons. One, it ain't over 'til it's over. Two, never count the odd man out. And three, clutch is spelled K-A-N-G-A-S.

With a fraction of a second remaining, sophomore Erik Kangas nailed two free throws to push the Golden Grizzlies over the edge in a 85-84 overtime showdown.

But let's rewind. This isn't one of those games that can be told with merely a box score.

Prior to tip-off, the rankings for the Mid-Con tournament were basically set. The visiting Oral Roberts Golden Eagles will be the number one seed going into next week's tournament and Oakland University will follow right behind in the number two slot.

So if anything, last night's game was a potential preview for what could be the March 6 championship game in Tulsa, Okla.

If that's the case, somebody better bring the smelling salts.

The first half of action saw four ties and five lead changes as neither team led the other by more than six points. Going into the locker rooms at the half, the Golden Grizzlies maintained a 39-36 lead.

The second half was just as much of a see-saw as the first, with five ties and seven lead changes.

Then, with 6:45 remaining, the Golden Eagles pulled away within 10 points, making the score 58-68. But seniors Vova Severovas and Shawn Hopes took their fate into their own hands and a series of aggressive drives to the basket by each brought Oakland within three.

But a three-second rally by ORU brought them back up within seven with four minutes to go in regulation. This time, it was senior Rick Billings who donned the proverbial Superman cape and pulled the Golden Grizzlies out of the hole. Billings scored five of the last eight OU points, including 4-5 free throw shooting, to send the Golden Grizzlies into overtime.

Freshman Johnathon Jones got things started in the extra minutes with a 3-pointer and Kangas floated a jump shot to give the Grizzlies an early five point lead.

With the setting in the arena, one would have never thought this was a regular season game. The cheers from both sides were deafening and to say the least, the pep band played every song in their repertoire with more power than ever, and those sitting court side could feel the vibrations from Head Coach Greg Kampe stomping his feet and jumping with an unbridled passion.

The game went back and forth within one point of each other before a free throw by Ken Tutt put Oral Roberts ahead by two points.

Kangas fired back with his fifth 3-pointer of the night with 15 seconds remaining, making the score 83-82, and it appeared that Oakland was going to win on that shot.

Then, the unthinkable happened. As the buzzer rang out, signaling the end of the contest, ORU junior Yemi Ogunoye sank the basket for the lay up. But would the shot count?

After the play was reviewed by the officials, the life was sucked out of the arena as the scoreboard added two points to the Oral Roberts side, 83-84. Yes, the shot counted and .4 seconds would be added to the game clock.

With so little time left, the Golden Grizzly fans lost their valor and some reporters were even starting to pack up their things and make their way toward the media room for post-game. In their eyes, this game was over.

Well, you know how the say, it ain't over 'til the fat lady sings? Well, the fat lady wasn't even close to hitting her high note.

After calling a timeout, all Oral Roberts had to do was throw the ball inbounds and hold onto it until the clock expired. But the Golden Eagles weren't counting on one final trick Kampe had up his sleeve. In his 23 years as an Oakland coach, he knew just the plan for this sort of situation.

As Shawn King moved to get open, Kangas planted his feet and allowed all 210 pounds of the ORU center to plow him into the hardwood. The whistle blew and the OU crowd erupted as the official called an offensive foul on King.

This brought Kangas to the free throw line, where he sank two free throws with ease. Kampe threw his hands up into the air as time expired and the Golden Grizzlies walked away with the victory.

To quote Frank Barone, "Holy crap!"

The OU fans rushed to the court to celebrate with their beloved team and Kampe took the microphone to thank the crowd for their support throughout the season.

The scene was crafted to perfection. Not even Spielberg could have written one this good.

In their final game at the O'Rena, all three seniors put up great numbers. Severovas led the Golden Grizzlies with 20 points, and Hopes and Billings had 14 apiece.

Kangas finished with 19, including five 3-pointers, and sophomore Derick Nelson rounded out the top scoring with 13 points.

Now that the regular season is in the books, the 17-13 Golden Grizzlies can put their eyes on the true prize. The Mid-Con Championship begins on March 3 where Oakland will take on Western Illinois, with whom OU split the series this season.