Tournament hopes smashed

IUPUI’s Hill nets 32 points to rub in OU defeat

*Note: Due to http://www.oaklandpostonline.com/ being down, semi-final stories will be posted here.

By Samantha Franz
Sports Editor

TULSA, Okla. --To paraphrase a certain Detroit Piston, the numbers don’t lie.

Thirty-two: the number of points IUPUI junior and NBA prospect George Hill scored, which is also two shy of his career-high.

Thirty-six: shooting percentage Oakland University was held to in the contest.

Fourteen: Young men of Golden Grizzlies basketball who will be sent off on a plane back to Rochester, Mich. empty-handed.

And just like that, the third-seeded Golden Grizzlies were knocked out in the semi-finals of the Summit League Championship Tournament Monday night by the second-seeded IUPUI Jaguars, 80-65.

"They need to be congratulated," said head coach Greg Kampe said. "They played a great game tonight and we didn't."

The Jaguars got off to a fast start against the Golden Grizzlies, shooting ahead to a seven point lead in less than four minutes, with a 10-3 lead at the 16:44 mark.

While the Golden Grizzlies had two double-digit scorers in the first half, with sophomore Johnathon Jones and junior Derick Nelson scoring 11 points, they could not get over the single-digit bumps in the first half, thanks in part to Hill’s 16 first half points.

At the half, OU was behind four, thanks to a 3-pointer by junior Erik Kangas at the last second to bring the score to 37-33.

The second half started out promising for Oakland, with freshman Tim Williams, who started in the absence of Brandon Cassisie, scoring a quick layup out of the gate to cut IUPUI’s lead to two points, 37-35.

But the momentum would not last long, as the Jags went on an 8-1 run that had them ahead by nine, 45-36, just one minute later.

Though OU fell behind by as many as 11 points before the nine minute mark, they did not give up and courtesy of some plays by Williams and Jones, Oakland was back within five, 64-59, with six minutes to go.

But a 3-pointer by Hill buried the Golden Grizzlies in a double-digit deficit for good with 2:40 remaining and in the end, it was too much ground to cover for OU and they watched IUPUI walk away with their dreams of a conference championship game with a score of 80-65.

Despite the loss, four Golden Grizzlies finished the game in double digits. Nelson led the team with a double-double of 21 points and 12 rebounds, Jones netted 18 points and had six assists, junior Erik Kangas scored 13 and Williams rounded out OU’s top scorers with 11 points.

Kangas, who scored five 3-pointers in the second half against Western Illinois University Sunday, could only muster a 1-8 showing in the game’s second half.

The Golden Grizzlies slipped on the defensive end this game, being out-rebounded on the defensive glass, 28-18 and allowing the Jags to shoot 53 percent for the game.

“We just didn’t make plays on defense like we normally do,” Jones said. “We gave up easy shots and just didn’t rotate to the players.”

To rub salt on the wound, the Golden Grizzlies received next to no help from their bench. The four substitutes, senior Patrick McCloskey, junior Shane Lawal and freshmen Peter Bunn and Will Hudson, contributed no points and only two rebounds.

With the Golden Grizzlies out of the picture, the championship game will consist of IUPUI and first-seeded Oral Roberts University, with the winner earning an automatic bid into the NCAA tournament.

“The Summit League got what it probably deserves with the two best teams in the league playing tomorrow night on national TV against each other,” Kampe said. “That will be good for The Summit League.”

Tip off is set for Tuesday, March 11, at 6 p.m. CST and can be seen on ESPN.