Upset? Not tonight...

Auburn overcomes OU to save face, 71-63

By Samantha Franz & Rob Tate
Sports Editor & Assistant Sports Editor

Oakland University's women's basketball team (2-1) came oh-so-close to sending No. 24 ranked Auburn (4-0) to the Thanksgiving table the following morning with a loss hanging over their heads last Wednesday, but couldn't overcome a second-half hump as they fell to the Tigers 71-63 at the O'Rena.

Oakland had a 58-55 point lead with 4:43 remaining in the game, but Tiger Tamela McCorvey nailed a 3-pointer with 3:45 remaining and the Golden Grizzlies just couldn't recover.

The young Golden Grizzlies played well against Auburn and their star guard DeWanna Bonner, who is second in the Southeastern Conference in both scoring and rebounding and finished the night with a double-double with 22 points and 12 rebounds. OU sophomore Meslissa Jeltema, in only her fourth career start, tallied a double-double of her own, with career highs in points and rebounds with 21 points and 11 boards.

“To have a lead and to play that well and not come out with the victory is very frustrating,” head coach Beckie Francis said. “I was very, very proud of our young ladies.”

Sparty on, OU!

OU travels to MSU for two key events

By Samantha Franz
Sports Editor

One team is seeking to complete the first round of the NCAA men's soccer tournament. The other is a men's basketball team seeking redemption after falling 92-77 to Duquense University. As fate would have it, both of these Golden Grizzlies teams will be traveling to East Lansing to take on the Spartans in their respective events this Saturday.

At noon, the men's soccer team will hit the field in hopes of winning their first-ever NCAA tourney game. OU previosuly fell to MSU 2-1 on Oct. 17. The winner of Saturday's tilt will take on Notre Dame Nov. 28.

The men's basketball team, meanwhile, will hit the court at 4 p.m. at the Breslin Center. The game will be broadcast on The Big Ten Network, 1310 AM and 88.3 FM, WXOU.

SWAT team

Duquense's 15 blocks move OU to 2-2

By Samantha Franz
Sports Editor

ROCHESTER--Whoever said you need to score double-digit points to have a good game clearly has never seen Duquense University junior Shawn James play basketball.

True, he only scored one point, a lone free throw, in the Dukes 92-77 routing of Oakland University. But the six-foot-ten post player also tallied six rebounds and a school record 12 blocks. Yes, 12 individual blocks, notching a new school record. No wonder he was chosen to be picked 17th overall in foxsports.com's 2008 NBA mock draft.

“We’ve played some top five teams in here, including Michigan State when they went to the Final Four, and that [Duquense] was one of the best teams we’ve ever faced,” said head coach Greg Kampe. "You saw a hell of a team."

From the opening tip to the final buzzer, the game was a dog fight. Players hit the floor, crashed the boards and sent the ball sailing, thanks to a grand total of 24 blocks between the teams.

OU never led throughout the contest, though they experienced several scoring runs, resulting in four Golden Grizzlies in double figures, including a career night for junior Shane Lawal, with 10 points, 16 rebounds and five blocks.



Junior Shane Lawal/www.ougrizzlies.com

"If you would have told me when he first got here that, against a good basketball team, he would have 16 rebounds, 10 points and five blocks, I would have said, 'there is no way that would ever happen,'" Kampe said. "I felt I couldn't take him off the floor; he was a real bright spot out there for us."

Senior Brandon Cassise did his best to compensate for the absence of the injured Erik Kangas, shooting 5-17 from the three-point line and tallying a game-high 22 points. But with only one sharp-shooter on the perimeter, Oakland tried to take the game inside to help out. As a result, they walked right into Duquense's block party, where many of their shots were either swatted away or pulled down in one of the Dukes' 37 defensive rebounds.

"We didn't pull up and shoot jump shots and Derick Nelson wanted to prove he could score on James," Kampe said of Nelson's driving to the basket. "James is probably going to send him a thank-you note for a world-record in blocked shots," he joked.

The Golden Grizzlies came within 10 points, 50-40, at 18:51 mark in the second half off a free throw by junior Derick Nelson But the run was short-lived and the Dukes countered with a 7-0 run, squashing OU's momentum.

Kampe referred to Duquense's ablility to hit the three-pointer on the road the as "key to the game," and that is certainly not a lie. Whenever OU hit a stride and sank a clutch shot, the Dukes would have an answer from three-point land, as they sank 11 of their 33 attempts, compared to OU's 7-26.

Other strong finishers for the Golden Grizzlies were Nelson with 20 points and eight rebounds and sophomore point guard Jonathon Jones with 12 points and three assists.

The victory shoots the Dukes up to 4-0 for the first time in 21 years, while the loss for OU puts them at 2-2 to start the season. The road isn't going to get any easier either, as the Golden Grizzlies enter Sparty Country this Saturday to take on the 10th ranked Michigan State University at 4 p.m. The game will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network, 1310 AM and 88.3 FM, WXOU.


Who wants to redeem themselves more?--Both Oakland University and Michigan State are coming into Saturday's matchup off of losses. The Spartans were handed a 68-63 decision by the 2nd ranked UCLA Bruins (5-0) Tuesday.

Back to basic black (and gold)?--After defeating Eastern Michigan in their new uniforms, the Golden Grizzlies wore them again in their loss to Duquense. Will they take them for a third outing against the Spartans and break the 1-1 record in them or will they go back to the more traditional unis?

We are the champions

Men's soccer takes Summit League title on IUPUI's home field

By Samantha Franz
Sports Editor

After coming up victorious 2-1 against UMKC, Oakland University had to face a hometown crowd in Indianapolis as the No. 1 ranked Golden Grizzlies took on the No. 2 ranked IUPUI. But all the cheers went in one ear and out the other as OU came away with the Summit League champsionship title by shutting out the Jaguars 2-0. The win gives Oakland an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.

Senior Michael Reyes netted both goals for the Golden Grizzlies and garnered Summit League Most Valuable Player honors.

Senior Michael Reyes/ougrizzlies.com

“The guys were absolutely magnificent today for all 90 minutes,” said The Summit League Coach of the Year Gary Parsons. “IUPUI came out and played physically today, and we matched them. Michael Reyes came in off the bench and was brilliant for us. It’s great to get back to the NCAA Tournament." Parsons was named Summit League Coach of the Year and junior Martin Sandell recieved Summit League Newcomer of the Year Honors.

OU will find out who they play in the NCAA selection show, which will air at 5:30 p.m. on ESPNews.

Fantastic Finish--The following OU players earned spots on the All-Tournament Team:

Adam Brent
Ian Daniel
Piotr Nowak
Michael Reyes

Wings Clipped

OU takes Eagles out of flight with 86-71 decision

By Samantha Franz
Sports Editor

"Every rose has its thorn," Poison famously crooned in 80s car radios everywhere. The same phrase could be applied to Oakland University's 86-71 routing of Eastern Michigan University's men's basketball team Saturday.

Sure, the team won by 15 points and yeah, six Golden Grizzlies were in double-figures. Oh, and OU simply owned the Eagles on the boards, out-rebounding EMU 56-33.

Junior Derick Nelson/ougrizzlies.com


But Oakland was also out-scored in the second half after a 43-26 halftime lead and only made 51.5 percent of their free throws. That, and they threw the ball away 21 times, resulting in 25 EMU points.

Ouch.

"That was the worst free throw shooting I've seen in my entire life," head coach Greg Kampe said. "I don't know how we scored 86 points. I told the team I really liked the way we played. I don't like how we played, but I like the way we played. The speed, the energy and they way we defended; I like that very much, But it wasn't crisp and we turned the ball over way too much."

Starting shooting guard Erik Kangas once again took a seat on the bench, recovering from a shoulder injury and senior Brandon Cassise started in his place, finishing the night with 11 points, including three three-pointers, and five steals.

The Grizzlies came out swinging in the first half, scoring 43 points and taking advantage of EMU's sloppy play. The Eagles committed a whopping 15 fouls in the half and turned the ball over 18 times, which OU converted into 20 points.

After basking in a 43-26 halftime lead, the Golden Grizzlies notched another 43 points on the board in the second half. Problem is, EMU put up 45.

Between Nelson's mere five points in the second half (compared to his 17 first half points), OU's 11 turnovers and losing junior Rutgers transfer Dan Waterstradt to injury, OU was presented with a greater challenge in maintaining their lead.

Waterstradt had just entered double-digit territory, scoring his 10th point, when he hit the court hard with 16:20 remaining in the half. He was assisted off the court and was diagnosed with a sprained ankle.

Luckily, OU got some help from their young guns with freshmen Will Hudson (who started at forward) scoring six points, Tim Williams notching 11 points and Keith Benson tallying six rebounds and two blocks.

As Kampe looks ahead to Tuesday's match up against Duquense (3-0 overall this season), a team he claims is the toughest team coming to the O'Rena this season, he expressed concern with his two injured players.

"If this was the NFL, Kangas would be listed as 'doubtful,'" Kampe said. "He will play when we play Southern Utah and UMKC in early December. If he can play before that, he will. But that's my time table for him; he's gotta heal and he's not healed. And Waterstradt is day-to-day [with a mild ankle sprain]. We need those players back."

But just because Kangas is out, doesn't mean his players are wide-eyed and dreaming of more playing time.

"We're not thinking about it like that," sophompre Shane Lawal said, who started the game and contributed six points (including some slam dunks), nine rebounds and one block. "We're looking at it as, 'if we're winning without him now, it says a lot about our team.' This is a very deep team, on the perimeter and in the post."

Also setting the tone for Tuesday's match up were some words of wisdom from Kampe's father.

"My father always said there are two things in the world that don't last," he said. "Dogs that chase cars and teams that don't make their free throws."

The tilt against Duquense will tip-off at 7 p.m. at the O'Rena.

Fashion Foward?--Always a team to push the fashion envelope, the Golden Grizzlies once again hit the court in some new uniforms. The uniform tops were much tighter than a traditional jersey, made of an Under Armor-like material.

"I like how tight they are because people can't grab on to [your jersey], but I don't really like the design," Nelson said.

When asked if tight shorts were to follow, Nelson laughed and gave a firm, "No."

See ya later, mate!

Grizzlies kick Kangaroos out of Summit League semis

By Samantha Franz
Sports Editor

Go figure that the game-winning goal was scored by the player Oakland University's men's soccer team was missing up until a few weeks ago, as sophomore Stefan St. Louis punched OU's ticket to the Summit League finals Friday. The Golden Grizzlies won by a 2-1 margin.

“Certainly we’re very happy with getting the win,” said head coach Gary Parsons in a press release. “We did a nice job getting behind them and created a lot of chances in the first half. We could have scored four goals, but only had the one goal lead. The second half was even and Stefan got a key goal for us late and we did a good job riding it out over the final 15 minutes.”

OU's first goal was scored by Piotr Nowak late in the first half off a pass by Summit League Newcomer of the Year Martin Sandell. After the goal was countered by UMKC in the 64th minute, St. Louis sent the game-winner at the 75:34 and successfully held the lead for their bid into the finals.

The Golden Grizzlies will take the field Sunday at noon in Indianapolis and will face the winner of the Oral Roberts/IUPUI showdown.

Crazy No. 8

OU Women's soccer falls to high-seeded Boilermakers

By Samantha Franz
Sports Editor

Oakland University's NCAA women's soccer tournament run skidded to a halt Friday, as they couldn't get a shot past No. 8 ranked Purdue and fell 4-0, with all four goals coming in the second half.

“The team played well for the most part, but when you have a breakdown, teams of this caliber really punish you,” said head coach Nick O’Shea ina press release. “We really opened up after the first goal and they countered to get a second goal and we lost focus after that. It’s always a goal to make it to the NCAA Tournament and we had a great season.”

And a great season they had. Returning starters from last year, such as senior Kristi Tomczyk, junior Kristi Evans and Summit League MVP Jessica Boyle stepped up their game while newcomers like senior walk-on Jamie Hulet and goaltender Elizabeth Watza certainly turned some heads in their black and gold debut.

OU finished the season 10-8-2 and took home the Inaugural Summit League title on their home field last Sunday.