The Oakland University Web site has confirmed in a press release that Derick Nelson will take a medical redshirt this season. Nelson played in two games after suffering a broken foot back on Nov. 13. He played just eight minutes at Eastern Michigan and nine minutes against Michigan State. He didn't score in either contest and didn't look to be 100 percent.

My thoughts
Obviously with a healthy Nelson next season the Grizzlies, who will also have St. John's transfer Larry Wright next season, will once again be a contender for the Summit League title. But that's a long way off. Oakland has proven it can win without him this season and is still among the favorites in the league. It's a shame Nelson had to suffer through a freak injury like this, but despite that the decision to redshirt him now is probably best for all involved. Hopefully Nelson's foot will heal 100 percent and he will be ready to go for the 2009-10 season.

Oakland is set to restart league play on New Year’s Eve when it hosts South Dakota State for a 4 p.m. game. The Jackrabbits are coming off what is likely the biggest win since it turned Division I, a 65-58 win at Iowa State.

“That’s a great win for them,” Oakland coach Greg Kampe said. “They have been going through the transition and they found out how hard it is. It’s been difficult. (Scott Nagy) is a great coach. I’m telling you, the guy is really, really a good coach. You look at the guys record before they went Division I, it’s unbelievable. When we played them last year, I thought they were one of the best prepared teams in the conference. I thought they knew what we were doing, they ran their stuff well. I just think they are very well coached.

“They are going through the transition, they are learning how hard it is. They had a great win and that scares the hell out of me because that’s what it takes for the kids to start believing,” Kampe added. “You get beat, get beat, get beat and you don’t believe in what the coach says and you don’t believe in yourself. Now all off a sudden, their record is pretty decent and they go and win at a BCS school then the rose just blossoms so that scares me. I think you’re going to see South Dakota State have a good year and I think they’ll make the tournament. Then they will be home for the tournament so I think they’re the scariest team in the league.”

SDSU (6-8, 1-1 Summit League) has tweaked its starting lineup over the last few weeks and had a transfer student Griffan Callahan become eligible. Griffan Callahan, whose brother Garrett is the Jackrabbits leading scorer at 16 points per game, made his first start of the year in the Iowa State win.

“When (Garrett) Callahan’s brother (Griffan Callahan) became eligible, he’s played two games now, I think that’s going to change their lineup,” Kampe said. “What (Nagy’s) trying to do is toughen his kids and get them ready. He keeps moving people around. But when it’s all said and done, it doesn’t matter who starts. Kai Williams is going to play a lot of minutes, whether he starts or not. Callahan is going to play a lot. (Clint Sargent) is going to play a lot, (Anthony) Cordova is going to play a lot. Whether they start or not doesn’t matter, they are going to be out there. It’s winning time now. All the learning and all the excuses you don’t have now. Now you got to find a way to win games. That’s what they’re going to do. They are going to come in here and try to steal one in their minds and I’m sure after beating Iowa State, they believe they can.”

Oakland enters Wednesday’s game 8-7 and 1-1 in league play. The Grizzlies have battled injuries, started the season with nine-straight games on the road and Wednesday’s game will mark just the third time they have played at the O’Rena so Kampe is pleased with where his team is at right now.

“If you would have told me with the schedule that we played, that Derick Nelson got hurt the day before for the first game, that we would be 8-7, I would have told you, ‘OK, I’ll take that,’ ” Kampe said. “Now obviously, we wanted to be 2-0 in the league and we’re not. I’m OK with that. No team has ever gone through our league undefeated in the history of the league, since 1983 no one’s ever been undefeated. Where we play and how we travel, there is going to be a game or two people lose. Oral Roberts is going to lose one like that, everybody is going to lose one like that. We just can’t do it again now. We’ve got to win the games that we are favored to win.”

Notes
n Expect a major announcement from Oakland this week on Derick Nelson, who did not practice Tuesday.

“I will tell you that there will be an announcement within the next 24 hours about what we’re doing with Derick Nelson,” Kampe said after practice Tuesday. “We are not 100 percent, to where we can make the announcement. Within the next 24 hours there will be an announcement about Derick Nelson.”

n Kampe is hopeful Ilija Milutinovic can return from a sprained foot in about a week. Milutinovic was hurt back on Dec. 21.

“He came out (Monday), he was OK, he was OK and then he cut left on it and he fell to the ground,” Kampe said. “I’m hoping another week. It’s really weird. He sprained his foot. I’ve seen an ankle, but I’ve never seen a foot before. … The swelling is all down in the toes. I’ve never seen it before, but I’ve never had a 7-foot Serbian before.”

The opponent — Michigan State has established itself as the juggernaut of college basketball programs in the state of Michigan over the last decade. The Spartans (8-2) are currently ranked No. 11 in the country and are coming off a 67-63 win over then No. 5 Texas in Houston.
Senior center Goran Suton, who recently returned from a knee injury, had 18 points in the win and sophomore guard Durrell Summers added 14 points. Both came off the bench in win over the Longhorns, but have started games this season. Suton is averaging 8.8 points and 4.8 rebounds in just four games this season. Summers is averaging 8.3 points and 1.2 steals per game.
Junior forward Raymar Morgan (16 points, 5.6 rebounds per game) is the Spartans leading scorer and rebounder this season. Morgan is just eight points away from 1,000 career-points.
Sophomore guard Kalin Lucas (11 points, 6.5 assists) and senior guard Travis Walton (6.5 points, 2.9 assists) have started all 10 games for Michigan State.
Sophomore guard Chris Allen (10.9 points), freshman Delvon Roe (6.0 points, 5.5 rebounds) and senior Marquies Gray (5.6 points, 4.5 rebounds) are all key contributors for the Spartans this season.
Michigan State’s only two losses this season are to two ACC teams, Maryland and No. 1 North Carolina. The Spartans lost just two starters from last year’s team that reached the Sweet 16.

Key matchup — Oakland’s Keith Benson vs. Michigan State’s Goran Suton. Suton had a huge game against the Grizzlies last season, finishing with 15 points and 20 rebounds. Suton (6-foot-10, 245) will likely look to use his strength advantage inside and be active on the glass. Oakland’s zone defense has allowed an average of 13.3 offensive rebounds per game and Suton is one of the better rebounders around, so the Grizzlies will need to get a body on Suton at all times or he will make them pay. Oakland has at times made an effort to get Benson the ball and he has responded when they do. If Benson is active and can get Suton in foul trouble, it would be huge for the Grizzlies.

Matchup history — Oakland is 0-6 all-time against Michigan State, with last year’s four-point loss (75-71) the closet game in the series. Saturday’s game will be just the second time the two team’s have met away from East Lansing. The Spartans defeated Oakland, 96-66, in Rochester Hills back on Nov. 17, 1998 in the only other meeting not at the Breslin Center.
Current senior Derick Nelson had 19 points and nine rebounds and graduated senior Brandon Cassise had 20 points in last year’s loss at East Lansing. Morgan led the Spartans with 20 points.

The skinny — Derick Nelson will be playing just his second game of the season after missing the first 13 with a broken foot. Nelson played eight minutes at Eastern Michigan on Monday despite not participating in a practice all season and as expected looked rusty. Nelson has went through several workouts and one practice this week so it will be interesting to see how many minutes he plays and how effective he is against the Spartans. Nelson, a Lansing native and high school teammate of Suton, wants to win this game badly and the Grizzlies will likely need Nelson to contribute to pull the upset. Senior guard Erik Kangas (17.2 points per game) and junior point guard Johnathon Jones (14.6 points, 5.6 assists) will also need to play well. Saturday’s game is the final non-conference game for Oakland, which hosts two league games next week. It is technically a home game for Oakland, but the Spartans fans will likely outnumber the Oakland fans. Michigan State is 8-2 all-time at the Palace.

n It was good to see Derick Nelson on the floor Monday, but let’s be honest he didn’t look good. The thing I was most impressed with was his quickness was still there. Nelson’s quick first step and spin moves are a big part of his game and he showed them twice. Once he drew a foul and the second time he had a nice assist on a Dan Waterstradt layup. Nelson hasn’t run or jumped in six weeks so taking that into consideration he didn’t look horrible, but has some work to do to be effective against Michigan State Saturday. He is staying on-campus to workout over Christmas and get ready for Saturday’s game.

n I was impressed by Eastern Michigan’s big-men, who were able to get some strong baskets inside and had Keith Benson and Will Hudson in foul trouble (both fouled out). Oakland’s defense was very active though and didn’t allow many open looks from the perimeter.

n The Grizzlies picked up the win despite not playing their ‘A’ game, which is a good sign. Winning ugly is what good teams do and Oakland won by 13 on the road at a MAC school.
“Anytime you win a Division I basketball game on the road, you hug each other and you move on,” Kampe said. “You don’t worry about any of that stuff. Maybe North Carolina and people like that can get mad at their players, I can’t get mad at my players. We played two times in the O’Rena. We beat a MAC school on the road, a team we recruit against. … There was kids here both Eastern and Oakland are recruiting, and we won the game. I don’t care what it looked like, that’s good for Oakland.”

n Ilija Milutinovic will miss an undetermined amount of time with a foot injury. An X-ray revealed Milutinovic did not break his foot, but he will miss time.
"Our 7-footer (Ilija) got hurt in practice and he’s going to be out for a while," Kampe said. "He hurt his foot."

n Click here to see my game story.

1. Oakland (8-6, 1-1) — The Golden Grizzlies regain the top spot thanks to their road win over Green Bay, a solid second half in a loss to Michigan, which is ranked No. 24 in the latest Associated Press poll and a win at Eastern Michigan. Sophomore center Keith Benson scored a career-high 23 points against Michigan and is averaging 13.8 points, 7.2 rebounds and 2.5 blocks for the Grizzlies, who have won five of their last six. Oakland plays its final non-conference game against No. 11 Michigan State at The Palace on Saturday.
2. North Dakota State (7-4, 2-0 Summit) — The Bison lost by just four at USC, 61-57. NDSU led by five at halftime and for most of the second half before the Trojans rallied to win in the final two minutes. As impressive as the showing was, North Dakota State has yet to prove it can win on the road, with its biggest road win at Northern Arizona. The Bison were tough at home last season, but really struggled on the road. A good indication is NDSU beat Northern Arizona by seven on the road earlier this season, but then beat them by 22 at home on Monday.
3. IUPUI (6-4, 0-1) — Leroy Nobles hit a layup at the buzzer to lift the Jaguars over Seton Hall and to their first win in school history over a Big East opponent. It was just the second loss of the season for the Pirates, who have beat USC and Virginia Tech this season. Freshman Alex Young led the Jaguars with 18 points and six rebounds and Billy Pettiford added 12 points and 11 rebounds. I sat next to an NBA scout at Oakland’s game Saturday and one guy he brought up in The Summit League is Young.
4. UMKC (5-8, 1-1) — Sophomore Spencer Johnson's streak of five straight double-doubles came to an end in a, 76-72, home loss to Texas-San Antonio. Dane Brumagin scored 26 in the loss, but was the only player in double figures. The Kangaroos won at Eastern Washington last week and fell by 15 at Northwestern. UMKC will host SIU-Edwardsville Sunday in its final non-conference game.
5. Southern Utah (3-8, 2-0) — Picking a team to rank fifth was tough. Teams four through nine are pretty even when you look at their results, but the Thunderbirds get the nod because of their league record. Southern Utah has still not beaten a Division I team in its non-conference schedule. The Thunderbirds have two games left to try, at UNLV Tuesday and at home against Sacramento State Saturday.
6. Western Illinois (4-7, 1-0) — The Leathernecks fell by one at Southeast Missouri State. Josh Rivers led WIU with 17 points and five assists. The Leathernecks wrap up their non-conference season Saturday at Iowa then restart conference play with two home league games (Southern Utah and UMKC). WIU could put themselves in a favorable position in the league if it can protect its home court in those two games.
7. Oral Roberts (3-10, 1-1) — Do I think Oral Roberts is the seventh best team in the Summit League? No. But the Golden Eagles have really struggled in their non-conference season, going 2-10 so I can’t justify ranking them in the top half of the league. Oral Roberts has had just two home games and should fare well once the conference season starts, but there is no guarantees. The Golden Eagles salvaged their trip to Puerto Rico with a 20-point win over South Florida (4-7) after falling to Wright State and Murray State. Oral Roberts plays its final non-conference at USC Dec. 28.
8. IPFW (4-8, 0-2) — The Mastodons played No. 10 Purdue even in the second half, 33-34, in a 70-55 loss Monday. It was an improvement for IPFW, which got embarrassed in the second half at Nebraska, getting outscored 46-14 in the half before falling 75-48. Leading scorer David Carson has just five points total in IPFW’s last two games. The Mastodons wrap up their non-conference season at North Florida Sunday.
9. South Dakota State (5-8, 1-1) — Freshman guard Griffan Callahan, who transferred from North Dakota, had 14 points and six rebounds off the bench in his debut for the Jacks, but his team fell 72-55 to Northern Iowa. Kai Williams continues to come off the bench and had just two points against Northern Iowa. Second-leading scorer Clint Sargent came off the bench and scored 11 points. SDSU coach Scott Nagy has now started 10 players, two or more games this season.
10. Centenary (2-10, 0-2) — Twelve straight road games down, three to go for the Gents. Centenary fell 73-51 at Kansas State. Nick Stallings had 27 points and seven rebounds, Anthony Gatlin had seven points and no other Centenary player had more than four. The Gents play at Texas Tech Tuesday and then at Missouri on Dec. 30 to wrap up their non-conference schedule. Centenary’s final road game of 15 straight to start the season is at Oral Roberts on Jan. 2.

6:50 p.m. — Oakland senior Derick Nelson was out stretching and in uniform at Eastern Michigan. It's unclear if he will play tonight, but he is dressed. I'll have more as the game progresses.

Another note, freshman center Ilija Milutinovic is in street clothes and has a walking boot on his left foot.

7:15 p.m. — WIth 11:42 left in the first half Nelson is set to check in. Oakland leads 15-6.

7:30 p.m. — Nelson played a little over three minutes and didn't score. He missed a 3-pointer and was called for an offensive foul, but he had his quickness and made a nice move to the basket and was fouled on the floor. Oakland leads 21-12 with 7:20 left in the first half.

7:39 p.m. — Eastern Michigan has pulled within four, 25-21, with 2:19 left in the half. Oakland has missed four straight free throws. Derick Nelson is set to check back in the game.

7:46 p.m. — Oakland leads 29-25 at halftime. The Eagles are doing most of their damage inside, with 18 of their 25 points coming in the paint. Erik Kangas and Johnathon Jones each have 10 points for the Grizzlies. Keith Benson has four points and four rebounds. Justin Dobbins leads Eastern Michigan with eight points and four rebounds.

8:15 p.m. — The Grizzlies used an 8-0 run to take a 37-27 lead and now lead 42-31 with 14:14 left in the game. Oakland is looking to get the ball to Benson more inside. He made four free throws to start the 8-0 run.

8:31 p.m. — Oakland leads 52-42 with 7:50 left thanks to a four-point play by Kangas, who now has 17 points. Nelson played a few minutes, grabbing an offensive rebound.

8:40 p.m. — The Grizzlies lead 57-46 with 3:58 left after a Kangas 3-pointer. Will Hudson has fouled out of the game and Benson has four fouls. Eastern Michigan will likely try to go inside down the stretch.

8:53 p.m. — Oakland wins 66-53. Kangas leads the way with 25 points. Jones adds 15 points and five assists and Benson finishes with 10 points and five rebounds. Nelson was 0-for-3 from the field with two rebounds, an assist and two fouls. Not an eventful return, but good to see him back out there.

The opponent — Eastern Michigan (2-8) is yet to beat a Division I opponent this season, with its two victories being over Marygrove and Wayne State. The Eagles have lost their eight games against Division I opponents by an average of 13.9 points. Eastern Michigan’s worst loss was a 31-point drubbing by Michigan and its closest game was a one-point loss at Georgia.

Sophomore forward Brandon Bowdry (6-foot-6, 229) is the Eagles leading scorer at 15.2 points per game and rebounder (7.0 per game), but is also averaging over four turnovers per game. Junior forward Justin Dobbins (6-8, 240) averages 11.9 points and 4.6 rebounds per game and is the Eagles tallest player that is averaging over 10 minutes a game.

Sophomore guard Solomon Farris (8.7 points, 4.5 rebounds) and redshirt freshman L.J. Frazier (8.2 points, 3.8 assists) have started all 10 games in the backcourt for Eastern Michigan. Farris (14-for-33) and Frazier (17-for-39) are also the team’s leading 3-point shooters.

The Eagles were dealt a critical blow in the preseason when senior guard and last year’s leading scorer Carlos Medlock was lost for the season to a broken foot.

Key matchup — Oakland’s Keith Benson vs. Eastern Michigan’s Justin Dobbins. Benson has strung together four solid games in a row and the Grizzlies need to get him involved early against the Eagles. Benson will have a distinct height advantage and should be able to dominate the inside.

Dobbins had his best-game of the season (22 points and seven rebounds) in the Eagles one-point loss at Georgia. Oakland will need to keep Dobbins and Bowdry off the boards.

Matchup history — This will be the third year in a row that these two teams will face off. Eastern Michigan leads the all-time series 6-3, but Oakland has won the last two and both games since it turned Division I. The Eagles last victory over Oakland was back on Nov. 26, 1996.

The Grizzles defeated the Eagles 86-71 last season at the O’Rena. Derick Nelson led Oakland with 21 points and nine rebounds and Johnathon Jones added 16 points and five assists. Erik Kangas missed the game last season with a broken collarbone and Nelson will miss this year’s game with a broken foot. Jesse Bunkley, who has graduated, was the only Eastern Michigan player in double figures, with 19 points off the bench.

The skinny — This could be somewhat of a trap game for Oakland. The Grizzlies are playing their third game in six days and coming off an emotional game against Michigan at The Palace. Oakland could come out inspired after the loss to the Wolverines or flat. If the Grizzlies don’t respect their opponent, they could let an Eastern Michigan team hungry for a victory catch them off-guard. If Oakland comes out and played like it did in the second half against Michigan, then it should roll to an easy victory.

n Right or wrong I have been critical of Oakland’s ability to allow so many 3-pointers this season. Saturday was a case where it likely looked much worse than it was. Michigan players hit several open 3-pointers in the first half, but they were from NBA range, late in the shot clock and caused by Manny Harris’ penetration. Harris is one of the leading scorers in the nation so Oakland’s defense had to collapse on him or he would make them pay. Michigan hit 9 of their first 13 3-point attempts and shot 10-for-18 in the first half. But the Wolverines were just 3-for-11 in the second half, which was caused by two things. One, Oakland playing better defensively in the second half and two, Michigan couldn’t keep it up its hot shooting.

n Keith Benson played by far the best game of his career. He was looking for his shot and active on the glass, finishing with a career-high 23 points and 11 rebounds. Benson didn’t just make a bunch of easy shots either. He made some really difficult shots and looked like he was playing with a purpose. He twice dunked on a Michigan defender and was fouled, and several times ripped rebounds right out of the Wolverines’ hands. He has the chance to be a real special player if he continues to play like he did Saturday at the Palace and did catch the eye of one NBA scout Saturday.

n This team can still accomplish its goals this season without Derick Nelson, if he is unable to play this season, but it’s tough when you imagine what they might have been able to do with him. Oakland coach Greg Kampe said that he cries himself to sleep when he thinks of what the team could have done with Nelson and just the fact that a senior had to get injured when he had hoped to accomplish so much. I talked to Nelson for a while at practice on Friday and he is really frustrated, and rightfully so. I’m sure if Kampe would have called his number, Nelson would have went out there with his boot on and in his sweat suit and did whatever he could to help Oakland beat Michigan. He’s got a great heart and it’s a shame a freak thing has caused him to miss these games he would give anything to play in. I was asked several times Saturday when he was coming back and I don’t know. I don’t think anybody knows, but hopefully it’s soon and he is 100 percent.

n Look for some extended coverage of Saturday's game in Sunday's Oakland press. There will be a column by Pat Caputo, a game story by Big Ten writer Paula Pasche and a sidebar by me.

The opponent — Michigan (7-2) looks like it has made a remarkable turnaround this season and could equal its win total from last season (10) before the end of December. The Wolverines have two wins over top-five ranked teams (UCLA and Duke) and have one of the top 25 scorers in the nation in sophomore guard Manny Harris (20.9 points, 7.3 rebounds, four assists and 1.2 steals per game).

Michigan also features an athletic big man in DeShawn Sims (6-foot-8, 225), who can knock down the outside shot or score inside. Sims is averaging 16.6 points and eight rebounds per game, and has started the last three games after starting the season as a sixth man.

The Wolverines do lack a consistent third-scorer, with freshman guard Zach Novak the team’s third-leading scored at 5.9 points per game. But Michigan will receive a huge boost with Laval Lucas-Perry in the lineup against Oakland. Lucas-Perry, who is a highly touted point guard that transferred from Arizona, is eligible for the first time Saturday against Oakland.

It’s unclear if Lucas-Perry will be in the starting lineup Saturday, but will likely be there soon. Freshman guard Stu Douglass (4.0 points, 2.7 assists) and senior guard and West Bloomfield native David Merritt (2.8 points, 1.4 assists) have started all nine games for Michigan this season. With junior guard Zack Gibson (4.4 points) making six starts and sophomore forward Anthony Wright (3.9 points) seven.

Key matchup — Oakland big men vs. Michigan’s DeShawn Sims. A lot of attention will be paid to Lucas-Perry making his debut and Harris is one of the top scorers in the nation, but the Grizzlies should really be concerned with Sims. He is not only the team’s leading rebounder, but can score in a variety of different ways. He had 28 points and 12 rebounds in Michigan’s win over Duke and has forced coach John Beilein to put him into the starting lineup with his play. Sims is capable of hitting the 3-point shot so Oakland has to be aware of him at all times.

The Grizzlies big guys will also have to help shoulder the load offensively. Oakland needs to get Keith Benson the ball inside, Will Hudson needs to be aggressive on the offensive glass like he was against Green Bay and if Dan Waterstradt can keep up his hot outside shooting it will really help take the pressure off the perimeter players.

Matchup history — Oakland’s 97-90 win over Michigan back on Nov. 17, 2000 was at the time the biggest win in school history. But the Grizzlies have lost three straight to the Wolverines since then and trail the all-time series 4-1. Michigan scored over 100 points for the first time since 1998, in its 103-87, win over Oakland last season at Crisler Arena. Harris scored 24 points and Sims added 22 in the victory for Michigan. Derick Nelson, who remains out with a foot injury, scored 31 points for the Grizzlies, Kangas added 24 points and Johnathon Jones had 13 points and eight assists.

The skinny — Oakland is banged up with Jones and Kangas both battling injuries and Nelson sidelined for an indefinite amount of time. But it’s not time to make excuses. The Grizzlies found a way to win at Green Bay on Thursday and if they can play like they did in the second half at Green Bay then they will have a chance to win.

Oakland’s zone defense has to be active against Michigan, who will have 3-point shooters everywhere. The Wolverines broke the school record for 3-pointers in their win over Eastern Michigan last week and will have an extra shooter with Lucas-Perry in the lineup. The Grizzlies will allow a lot of 3-point shots in the zone, but if they are contested and Michigan isn’t hitting a high percentage then Oakland chances of winning will increase. If the Wolverines are hot from outside then it could get ugly.

Greg Kampe and company have worked hard to get games like this for the program so regardless of the outcome, Oakland needs a solid showing and can hopefully have a nice crowd out to support them.

"We got to play the game at our tempo," Kampe said after Oakland's practice at The Palace on Friday. "Last year, we played a brutal game against them, where they had not shot well all year and they made everything last year. I think the pace of the game was to there liking. It was very fast. We have to keep the tempo at our pace. We have to pick our stops on when to run. We have to use the shot clock. We have to defend them in the halfcourt, we cant’ give them transition points. Our turnovers can’t lead to touchdowns for them. We want them to play against our zone every possession. We got to contest 3-point shots and we have to rebound the misses."

Also check out my Kangas feature-game preview

http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer">


Dave Pemberton sits down with sophomore center Keith Benson and discusses the Michigan game with assistant coach Darren Sorenson.

Oakland battled back in the second half to pick up a quality road win at Green Bay, 79-76 in overtime.

"It's a great victory and the way we came back at their place,” Oakland coach Greg Kampe told Oakland Athletics. “I'm upset the way we gave it back and some calls on JJ (Johnathon Jones) for palming, and we couldn't make a free throw. Sometimes that happens, but we had a chance to ice it with five or six free throws at the end of regulation, but we made them in overtime.”

In the second half, Johnathon Jones, Dan Waterstradt and Keith Benson helped out Erik Kangas, who carried the load in the first half.

Jones scored 14 of his 16 points in the second half and overtime, Benson scored all nine of his points in the second half before fouling out 20 seconds into overtime and Waterstradt scored eight of his 11 points in the second half and overtime.

Overall the Grizzlies scored 39 points in the second half, including a 7-0 run early in the second half to tie the game and an 11-2 run that gave them an 11-point lead, 64-53, with 2:55 left in the second half.

A cause for concern was Oakland shooting 3-for-8 from the free-throw line in the final four minutes, which allowed the Phoenix to force overtime.

Jones had eight assists and 10 turnovers to go with his 16 points and is playing through an injury he suffered against Rochester College.

"JJ's hurt,” Kampe said. “What am I suppossed to do? JJ's hurt, (Derick) Nelson's hurt, Matt Samuels is hurt. We can't fly the ball up the court. We're running an offense where you are suppossed to drive the ball to the basket, so what are we going to do. JJ got hurt in the Rochester (College) game, it's a groin and that is two weeks, but we don't have two weeks. It was one of the worst games he's played and he made shots down the stretch, foul shouts down the stretch, and I want to hug him. Your mad at him because he played so poorly, but he did it on one leg."

The biggest shot of the game once again came from Kangas, who buried a 3-pointer with 52 seconds left in overtime to give Oakland a 75-73 lead, a lead it would not relinquish the rest of the way.

"We ran a set play, and the funny thing about it is that he had a layup and decided to shoot the three instead of going and getting the layup,” Kampe said. “You better make it when you do that because we were one point down. A layup puts us ahead, but you know he was feeling it and he's a senior and that's why we ran a play to him because we knew he would do something good."

Kangas finished with 27 points, including six 3-pointers and four assists for Oakland (7-5).

"We missed a lot of free throws, gave up some rebounds, and had some really critical turnovers that really hurt us, but it just shows how far we've come as a team,” Kangas said. “That we have the toughness to fight through it all and get a win."

Waterstradt was 4-for-5 from the field, including 3-for-3 on 3-point attempts and had nine rebounds. Will Hudson added six points, 11 rebounds (seven offensive), four steals and a block.

The Grizzlies, with the exception of Kangas, really struggled offensively in the first half. Kangas had 14 first half points on 5-for-12 shooting. The rest of the team shot 38.4 percent (5-for-13), scoring 13 points and turning the ball over 12 times. Oakland also did not shoot a free throw in the first half and had 12 turnovers.

The Grizzlies zone once again forced an opponent to shoot a lot of 3-pointers. Green Bay went 9-for-29 on its 3-point attempts, while Oakland shot an impressive 48 percent (12-for-25) on 3-pointers.

"We really defended, boy did we defend,” Kampe said. This is a great offensive team, a great shooting team and we got out there, flew around, took shots away and the threes they made were deep threes. I think they shot 31 percent from three, so I'm very pleased and this is a great win for us."

Senior Ryan Tillema did the most damage for Green Bay, netting 22 points and shooting 6-for-12 on 3-point attempts. Troy Cotton, the Phoenix leading scorer, finished with 16 points on 5-for-15 shooting, including 3-for-11 on 3-pointers.

My take: It took a lot of character to win a game at a place that is very tough to win. Green Bay was 15-3 in its last 18 games at home and had lost just one non-conference game in its last 17 at home. This is the second time the Grizzlies won at a place that nobody typically wins at, with the other being at Oregon.

Oakland can really be a dangerous team if its hitting its shots like it did against Green Bay. The Grizzlies can play with anybody in the country when its shooting 48 percent from 3-point range. If Oakland can carry that hot shooting into its next three then the Grizzlies could upset Michigan or Michigan State.

But as important as the next three games are, it is more important that Oakland get healthy for the start of league play. Kangas and Jones are both banged up, but will play through it. Hopefully they can get to 100 percent by New Year’s Eve.

The opponent — Green Bay is off to a 6-3 start and is 4-0 at home this season. The Phoenix have won their four home games by an average of 13.5 points per game. Green Bay won six straight, before falling to Wisconsin, 77-57, on Saturday.

Green Bay will be playing a bit short-handed after Chop Tang left the program earlier this week. Tang started the last five games, averaging 9.0 points a game and he also played a big role defensively for the Phoenix, who are holding opponents to an average of 62.6 points per game.

Two-time second team Horizon League selection Mike Schachtner will move back into the starting lineup to replace Tang. The senior forward is Green Bay’s second-leading scorer at 12.2 points per game and started the first four games of the season before being moved to the bench.

The Phoenix other main offensive weapon is junior guard Troy Cotton, who leads the team in scoring at 13.4 per game and is averaging 2.9 3-pointers a game. Green Bay is hitting seven 3-pointers a game as a team.

Junior forward Randy Berry (6-9, 225, 7.7 points, 6.1 rebounds), sophomore guard Rahmon Fletcher (6.8 points, 3.7 assists) and senior forward Terry Evans (6-5, 195, 9.9 points, 5.0 rebounds) have started all nine games for the Phoenix. Evans, who is the Green Bay all-time leader in blocks and steals, is also averaging 1.8 steals and 0.8 blocks this season.

Senior Ryan Tillema, who was 15th in the Horizon League in scoring last season at 12.5 points a game, recently returned from a knee injury. He is averaging nine points a game off the bench in his first two games back.

Key matchup — Oakland’s Erik Kangas vs. Green Bay’s Troy Cotton. The team whose sharpshooter has the better game will likely walk away with the win. Kangas practiced this week after tweaking his ankle on Sunday and is averaging 20 points a game during Oakland’s current three-game winning streak. Kangas is returning to the same arena, where he broke his collarbone last season.

Cotton had just five points in Green Bay’s loss to Wisconsin and the team scored just 57 points total. That fact is a good indicator of how important Cotton is to the Phoenix offense. Of Cotton’s 121 points this season, 64 percent have come on 3-pointers so Oakland will need to know where he is at all times.

Matchup history — Oakland is 1-3 all-time against Green Bay. The two teams have split the last two years, with the home team winning both games. The Phoenix won 76-75 last season in a game where Kangas got hurt 11 minutes into the game. This season the Grizzlies will be without Derick Nelson, who had 10 points and eight rebounds against Green Bay last season. Senior Brandon Cassise led Oakland last season with 26 points and added seven rebounds. Schachtner led the way for the Phoenix with 23 points and Fletcher added 14.
Two of Green Bay’s all-time wins came in the 70s, one in 1975 and the other in 1976.

The skinny — Green Bay could be reeling after the loss of Tang a few days ago or could rally without him as a distraction. It’s tough to say until the game actually starts. Oakland will need to come out focused defensively and limit Green Bay’s open looks from 3-point range, especially Cotton.

The Grizzlies will also need to look to get Keith Benson involved early. The sophomore is averaging 17 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.7 blocks in his last three. Oakland would also like to see Johnahton Jones break out of his current shooting slump, he is averaging 9.7 points on 32.5 percent shooting (8-for-25) in his last three, but is also averaging eight assists in the same stretch. Look for an inspired effort from Will Hudson. The Madison, Wis. will have family and friends in the crowd and has a little revenge on his mind. For more on that see my story in the paper

1. North Dakota State (5-3, 2-0 Summit) — Senior guard Ben Woodside poured in 60 points in a triple overtime loss to Stephen F. Austin, which is ranked No. 11 in the mid-major top 25. Woodside tied ‘Pistol’ Pete Maravich’s record of 30 made free throws in the loss. The Bison recovered to beat Georgia Southern the next night, led by 31 points and 10 assists from Woodside. NDSU hosts Valley City State on Thursday before playing at USC on Saturday.
2. Oakland (6-5, 1-1) — The Grizzlies finally had a week to practice at home after a grueling nine-straight road games to start the season. Oakland easily defeated Rochester College Sunday, but senior guard Erik Kangas tweaked his injured ankle in the win. The Grizzlies have two tough games this week, at Green Bay on Thursday and then they host Michigan at The Palace of Auburn Hills (home of the Detroit Pistons).
3. Oral Roberts (2-7, 1-1) — Losing by 16 at North Carolina is nothing to be ashamed of and transfer Kevin Ford (6-9, 240) had 10 points and six rebounds in his Golden Eagles debut. Oral Roberts is likely better than its 2-7 record indicates, but we should know more after this week, when the Golden Eagles play at New Mexico Wednesday and then three games (Wright St., Murray St., South Florida) at the San Juan Shootout.
4. UMKC (4-8, 1-1) — The Kangaroos lost by five at Loyola Chicago, which is undefeated at home this season and fell at Northwestern on Monday. Sophomore Spencer Johnson had 22 points and 12 rebounds in the loss to the Wildcats. Johnson is averaging 17 points and 12.3 rebounds per game in his last four games. UMKC plays at Eastern Washington Thursday.
5. IUPUI (5-4, 0-1) — The Jaguars were beating No. 20 Arizona State 34-18 at halftime before falling by one in overtime. Senior Gary Patterson and freshman Alex Young each scored 19 points in the road loss. Young is averaging 14.7 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1 steal per game and has to be the leading candidate for Newcomer of the Year so far this season.
6. Southern Utah (3-6, 2-0) — After opening up league play 2-0, the Thunderbirds lost two straight non-conference games (at UC-Riverside and home to Weber State), both by four points. SUU plays a pair of in-state rivals this week, hosting Utah State on Wednesday and at Utah Valley on Saturday.
7. IPFW (4-6, 0-2) — The Mastodons scored what head coach Dane Fife called a historic win by beating Valparaiso for the first time and in convincing fashion on the road, 63-46. IPFW followed that up by falling to No. 24 Marquette, 69-50. David Carson averaged 16.5 points per game in the two games. The Mastodons still have three games left on their current seven-game road streak.
8. Western Illinois (4-6, 1-0) — Eastern Illinois snapped the Leathernecks three-game winning streak with a 63-56 win. In the loss senior Josh Rivers hit six 3-pointers on way to scoring a career-high 24 points. David DuBois (12 points) was the only other WIU player to score more than six points. The Leathernecks play at Southeast Missouri State on Sunday, which they defeated, 71-66, at home earlier this season.
9. South Dakota State (4-7, 1-1) — The Jacks fell at Minnesota, but rallied to start the second half before the Gophers regained control of the game. SDSU also fell by four at Denver. Junior Kai Williams continues to struggle, he has come off the bench the last two games and is averaging 4.25 points per game in his last four. The Jacks have lost three straight and host Cal-State Bakersfield Tuesday and at Northern Iowa Sunday.
10. Centenary (2-9, 0-2) — The Gents continue to struggle as they play 15-straight on the road to open the season. Centenary fell by six at Louisiana Tech. Nick Stalling scored 25 points in the Gents fourth straight loss. Centenary plays at Kansas State Saturday.

Since all the teams are between 8-11 games into the season, I thought in addition to the rankings I will post my all-Summit League first team as if my ballot had to be turned in today. I will update it periodically throughout the season.

Summit League first team
*Ben Woodside, North Dakota State — Woodside's 26.9 points per game puts him second in the nation, tied with Chicago State's David Holston and behind Davidson's Stephen Curry (31.9). He also leads the league assists (7.6), is shooting 51.4 percent from 3-point range, hitting 2.4 per game and is shooting 85 percent from the free-throw line. He is the early favorite to win Player of the Year honors.
Robert Jarvis, Oral Roberts — Jarvis is second in the league in scoring (19.2), second in 3-pointers per game (3.0), is shooting 80 percent from the free-throw line and averaging 38.4 minutes per game. Only concern is his field-goal percentage.
Brett Winkelman, North Dakota State — The senior forward is fourth in the league in scoring (18.1) and leads the league in rebounding (9.0). He is shooting 51.4 percent from the field and his 1.9 steals per game is second in the league.
Dane Brumagin, UMKC — The senior sharpshooter is fifth in the league in scoring (17.5), fourth in free-throw percentage (87.8 percent), fourth in steals (1.8) and fifth in 3-pointers per game (2.5)
Johnathon Jones, Oakland — The junior point guard is averaging 14.6 points per game, second in the league in assists (5.2), eighth in steals (1.5) and seventh in assist/turnover ratio (1.7). He also leads the league in minutes played (422) and minutes per game (38.4).
Davis Baker, Southern Utah — Baker is third in the league in scoring (18.6), leads the league in free-throw percentage (91.9) and is among the league leaders in field goal percentage (47.6) and three-point percentage (39.4). He also averages 5.8 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game.
*Player of the Year

Others considered (in no order): David DuBois, Western Illinois; Reggie Hamilton, UMKC; Erik Kangas, Oakland; David Carson, IPFW; Nick Stallings, Centenary; Garrett Callahan, South Dakota State; Clint Sargent, South Dakota State; Alex Young, IUPUI; Gary Patterson IUPUI.

Nelson out at least another two weeks
The X-ray on senior forward Derick Nelson’s foot this week has left his future uncertain. He will be out at least another two weeks and possibly longer.

“It didn’t go good,” Oakland coach Greg Kampe said. “That last X-ray wasn’t good. Well it’s good and bad. There’s a calcification on the crack. They said it would be at least two weeks and could be four. If it comes to four weeks, then it’ll be in the middle of January and we’re going to have a decision to make. We want him back. This is a very good team and with him, it could be a special team. We want him back, but we’re not going to bring him back if it’s going to take two or three more weeks to put him back into playing shape. All of a sudden it’s the middle of February and all of a sudden he’s Derick Nelson, then it’s not worth it.

“As I said before, it’s going to be his decision. He’s got a child and he will graduate at the end of this semester. And he wants to play professionally and he’s got the ability to do that. If his decision is ‘Coach I don’t want to come back next year no matter what,’ then we will play him. If there’s any idea that he wants to come back, we’ll make that decision when the doctor gives the OK.”

This is obviously not good news for Oakland, but it will be interesting to see how it plays out. If Nelson comes back this season at 100 percent then the team’s chances of making the NCAA Tournament this season will increase. If the Grizzlies redshirt him, then next year’s team would have everybody back except Erik Kangas and Dan Waterstradt and would add not only Nelson, but St. John’s transfer Larry Wright and whatever recruits Oakland lands in addition to Drew Valentine.

Nelson has to do what’s best for him and his family and it’s a shame he got injured, but Oakland will benefit from both scenarios as long as he is back at 100 percent.

Kangas tweaks ankle
Kangas missed the Delaware State game at the Las Vegas Invitational with an ankle injury and apparently re-aggravated that ankle against Rochester College Sunday. He left the game and went into training room. He later returned to the bench without his shoe and an ice pack on his ankle.

“Yeah, that’s not good,” Kampe said of the injury. “We’re coming into a big stretch now. We have Green Bay on the road and they’re very good. They beat UMass and UMass beat Kansas (Saturday). Then, we have Michigan at the Palace, then we go to Eastern Michigan, then Michigan State at the Palace. So, we’re going into a big four-game stretch and we need Erik Kangas. Without Derick Nelson, we can’t afford to lose Erik Kangas. He just tweaked that ankle again. I probably had him out there too long.”

The Michigan game at The Palace already look more difficult than it did at the beginning of the year, but would be even more difficult without Kangas, who is averaging 20 points a game in this last three games.

Samuels in street clothes
Freshman Matt Samuels missed Sunday’s game against Rochester College with an ankle injury he suffered in practice, but it doesn’t appear he will be out long.

“Matt got hurt in practice (Saturday),” Kampe said. “He hurt his ankle and warmed up today, but didn’t go. I suspect he’ll be okay by Green Bay. I hope so. We need him. He would have gotten to play a lot tonight. I was going into this game and planning on giving him a chance to really (play). I wanted to sit JJ a lot tonight. Give (Matt) the ball and find out what he can do when no one is looking over his shoulder. It was a bad injury for us, because I really wanted to play him.”

IPFW 63, Valparaiso 46
The Mastodons beat Valparaiso for the first time in seven attempts, doing so in convincing fashion and at Valpo on Wednesday night. It was the worst home loss for the Crusaders since 2003-04 when they were beat by Cincinnati by 19.
“I would say for our school, it’s a pretty big milestone,” IPFW coach Dane Fife told The Journal Gazette. “This is Valpo. Most of our Indiana kids remember when Valpo was put on the basketball map and Valpo has stayed there. Valpo is a program with a great tradition. I think it’s a big win for our guys, and it also stopped a three-game losing streak for us.”
Senior forward David Carson led IPFW (4-5) with 16 points and nine rebounds, junior Deilvez Yearby added 13 points and eight rebounds and guard Nick Daniels finished with 13 points.
The Mastodons led 31-18 at halftime, but the Crusaders (3-5) started the second half on an 8-2 run to pull within five, 33-28. IPFW responded with a 10-2 run to push the lead back to 12, 43-30. From there the Mastodons led by as many as 23 and never less than 10.
“We told them, ‘They’re going to come out and give us their best shot,’ ” Fife told the Journal Gazette. “We made some silly mistakes at the start. I remember Dave (Carson) saying in the huddle – I didn’t have to do any talking – Dave said in the huddle, ‘Let’s go now. Let’s get it going.’ And we came down and essentially built our lead back up to double digits and never let go.”

Western Illinois 71, Southeast Missouri State 66
The Leathernecks (4-5) won their third straight thanks to some clutch free-throw shooting. Western Illinois shot 8-for-9 from the free-throw line in the final two minutes. Senior David DuBois, who was 1-for-5 from the free-throw line prior to the final two minutes, shot 4-for-4 down the stretch.
"Yeah, I missed those three in a row earlier," DuBois told The Macomb Journal. "But I just stuck to my routine, calmed down and knocked (the others) down.”
DuBois finished with 25 points and five rebounds. Junior guard David Nurse finished with 16 points and five assists and redshirt freshman Ceola Clark had 14 points, five rebounds and three assists off the bench. The Leathernecks had 22 assists on 26 baskets, led by seven assists from senior guard Josh Rivers.
Western Illinois’ student section (the Purple Haze) was apparently very vocal in the victory, but did draw some interesting comments from head coach Jim Molinari.
“I told them I want them to cheer but they have to respect our opponents," Molinari told the Macomb Journal. "I hope the 'Purple Haze' becomes a part of our tradition here."

"It was great to hear the crowd," DuBois said. "They gave us a lot of confidence and momentum. Coach (Molinari) has told us if we keep doing the right things, people will come to games. It's showing."

Minnesota 74, South Dakota State 60
The Jackrabbits rallied back from a 19-point deficit to cut Minnesota’s lead to five in the second half, but couldn’t complete the comeback and hand Minnesota (9-0) its first loss of the season.
“I fully believe you play the way you think," coach Scott Nagy told the Argus Leader. “Our kids just don't fully believe they're as good as they are. I don't know how to help them get over that hurdle. But it's costing us games.”
Nagy attempted to switch things up by having two regular starters (sophomore guard Clint Sargent and junior forward Kai Williams) come off the bench and started redshirt freshman Josh Cassady and sophomore guard Dale Moss in their place.
Sargent responded with a career-high 25 points in 29 minutes, but Williams had just four points in 30 minutes and shot 2-for-12 from the field. Williams, who was the Jacks leading scorer last season at 14 points a game, is averaging just 9.9 points a game this season and four points a game in his last three.
Nagy, whose squad is 4-6 this season, vented some of his frustration after the game.
"Once they settle down, it's clear that we've got some players, we're moving in the right direction," Nagy, whose club dropped a six-point decision in Minnesota last year told the Argus Leader. "But this had got to end. Nobody is going to hand us a game. Somehow, someway you have to decide enough is enough and do something about it."

Big weekend
Summit League teams will be playing in some big games this upcoming weekend.
Oral Roberts will face off with No. 1 North Carolina on Saturday at 6 p.m. with the game being aired on ESPN2.
IPFW travels to No. 24 Marquette Saturday.
North Dakota State will play two games as part of the Drake Hy-vee Classic, with one on Friday against Stephen F. Austin and another Saturday night.
Western Illinois will face in-state rival Eastern Illinois on Saturday. Centenary will also face an in-state rival when it plays at Louisiana Tech Saturday. UMKC will play at Horizon League foe Loyola-Chicago, while South Dakota State plays at Denver.
On Sunday, IUPUI plays at No. 20 Arizona State, while Oakland hosts Rochester College.
And the Summit League’s version of a Monday night game to cap off the weekend will be when UMKC plays at Northwestern, which will air on the Big Ten Network.

There has been a lot of talk about how many 3-pointers Oakland has given up this season, so I thought I would investigate how big the problem really was or wasn’t.
The Golden Grizzlies have given up 85 3-pointers in 10 games this season, which is, as of Tuesday night, the third most in the nation behind only Hartford (109 in 10 games) and South Alabama (87 in 9 games).
If you calculate 3-pointers given up per game then Oakland’s 8.5 3-pointers allowed per game is the 13th most in the nation.
Giving up a lot of 3-pointers doesn’t necessarily translate into losses. Of the 15 teams giving up the most 3-pointers in the nation, six have records .500 or above (South Alabama, Air Force, Liberty, South Carolina St., Drake and Oakland). Also don't forget Oakland was on the road for nine straight games to start the season and the amount of 3-pointers given up could be due to tired legs.
Below is a break down of the teams giving up the most 3-pointers in the nation. It should be pretty accurate, but I can’t 100 percent guarantee anything since I did it all by hand (the NCAA doesn’t have this stat, just 3-point field goal percentage defense). Oakland’s 3-point field goal percentage defense is 43.5, which 191st out of 330 teams in the nation.

1. Hartford (3-6), America East — 10.9 average (109 in 10 games)
2. Loyola Marymount (0-8), West Coast — 9.875 (79 in 8 games)
3. South Alabama (6-3), Sun Belt — 9.67 (87 in 9 games)
4. UNC-Asheville (3-5), Big South — 9.375 (75 in 8 games)
5. Air Force (6-2), Mountain West — 9.25 (74 in 8 games)
Liberty (6-2), Big South — 9.25 (74 in 8 games)
7. South Carolina St. (4-3), MEAC — 9 (63 in 7 games)
8. Houston Baptist (0-8) Independent — 8.875 (71 in 8 games)
Brown (3-5), Ivy League — 8.875 (71 in 8 games)
10. UNC-Wilmington (3-6), CAA — 8.67 (78 in 9 games)
11. Rice (3-5), Conference USA — 8.625 (69 in 8 games)
North Florida (0-7), Atlantic Sun — 8.57 (60 in 7 games)
13. Oakland (5-5), Summit — 8.5 (85 in 10 games)
Troy (3-5), Sun Belt — 8.5 (68 in 8 games)
15. Drake (6-2), Missouri Valley — 8.375 (67 in 8 games)
Winthrop (1-7), Big South — 8.375 (67 in 8 games)
Robert Morris (4-4), Northeast — 8.375 (67 in 8 games)

1. North Dakota State (4-2, 2-0 Summit) — The Bison are always tough at home and picked up a pair of Summit League wins at home last week. Senior Brett Winkelman averaged an impressive 23 points and 13 rebounds in the two wins. NDSU plays in the Drake Hy-Vee Classic this weekend.
2. Oakland (5-5, 1-1) — The loss at Southern Utah knocks the Grizzlies out of the top spot in the power rankings, but the trip to Cedar City is always a tough one. Sophomore center Keith Benson averaged 19 points, 8.5 rebounds and 3.5 blocks in his last two games. The Grizzlies have some much-needed practice time this week before hosting Rochester College Sunday.
3. Oral Roberts (2-6, 1-1) — A poor second half cost the Golden Eagles against NDSU, but they rebounded with a convincing win over South Dakota State. Oral Roberts lost a close one at home to Arkansas-Little Rock and play at No. 1 North Carolina Saturday. Senior guard Robert Jarvis is averaging 18.4 points a game and 17.1 shots per game.
4. UMKC (4-6, 1-1) — The Kangaroos rallied to take the lead with less than a minute left against Oakland, but couldn’t pull it out. UMKC rebounded to beat IPFW by eight. Senior guard Dane Brumagin averaged 28.5 points a game in the two league games, while sophomore forward Spencer Johnson averaged 16 points and 11.5 rebounds.
5. Southern Utah (3-5, 2-0) —The Thunderbirds picked up their first two wins over Division I opponents with two convincing league wins at home. SUU beat both Oakland and IPFW by 16 points. Tyler Quinney averaged 23.5 points in the two wins, while Davis Baker averaged 21.5 points.
6. Western Illinois (3-5, 1-0) — The Leathernecks have won two straight after a 10-point road win at IUPUI and a two-point win over Texas-Pan American in Las Vegas. WIU also took Coastal Carolina to overtime in Las Vegas before falling by nine. Senior David DuBois (17 points per game) is the only player on the team averaging in double figures.
7. IUPUI (5-3, 0-1) — The Jaguars really struggled in a 10-point home loss to Western Illinois. IUPUI scored just 48 points and senior guard Gary Patterson was held scoreless in 33 minutes. The only bright spot was Wabash Valley J.C. transfer Robert Glenn scoring 17 points, his most since he scored 19 points against Northeastern in the season opener.
8. IPFW (3-5, 0-2) — The two December league games were not kind to the Mastodons. IPFW was down by as many as 10 and never led in the second half before losing by eight at UMKC and lost by 16 at Southern Utah. Two of the Mastodons three wins are against Eastern Illinois, with the other being over IU East. Senior forward David Carson is leading the team in scoring at 15.1 per game.
9. South Dakota State (4-5, 1-1) — The Jackrabbits split a pair of league home games. Junior guard Garrett Callahan averaged 19 points a game in the two games and is averaging 18.6 on the season. The Jacks play two road games this week, at Minnesota on Wednesday and at Denver on Saturday.
10. Centenary (2-8, 0-2) — The trip to the Dakotas is never easy and did not go well for the Gents. Centenary lost by 13 at SDSU and by 15 at NDSU. The loss at North Dakota State was the Gents’ 10th straight road game and they still have five more road games to go before hosting Oakland on Jan. 8 in their first home game of the season.

Oakland coach Greg Kampe had some interesting comments at the postgame press conference about the status of Derick Nelson, who broke his foot before the season started.

"He has an x-ray on Wednesday," Kampe said. "One of three things can happen. They are going to look at it and say, ‘It’s healing and let’s try it.’ (Or) ‘No it’s going to be 6-8 (weeks) like we said originally.’ Or, ‘You’re not going to play this year.’ We don’t know which of the three. ... I don’t want to hear he’s not going to play this year. But if it’s 8-10 (weeks) I don’t know if I’ll play him. Why would I bring him back after we played 19 of our 31 games? Maybe because he is going to graduate and he’s got a kid, and he wants to play in Europe. So I might have to because he might want that.

"Obviously we think we can win without him, but obviously we are better with him. You don’t want to mortgage the future, but we are going to make the decision with him and his mom and dad. It’s really got to be what’s best for Derick Nelson. I wish it was what’s best for Oakland. But it’s going to have to be what’s best for Derick. He wants to play. Right now he wants to play. It’s killing him."

Kangas hits 1,000
Erik Kangas became the eighth player in Oakland’s Division I era to surpass 1,000 points Sunday. Kangas needed seven points entering Sunday’s game and had 22 points against the Rockets.

“That was one of my goals that I really wanted to reach this year,” Kangas said of reaching 1,000 points. “I had no idea I was even that close to it so I was kind of surprised when (the PA announcer) said that when I made it. It’s makes me fell like I’ve made my mark here on the program and I’ll be remembered here.”

Kangas has gotten to 1,000 points largely due to his 3-point shot. The senior is really starting to develop other parts of his offensive game, but the numbers are pretty amazing. After Sunday’s win Kangas had 1,015 career points and 717 of them have come off 3-pointers. Also 96 of his points have come at the free-throw line, which means just 202 of his career-points have come off 2-point shots.

On Sunday, Kangas scored 10 of his 22 points on 2-pointers and has looked to score more in other ways than just 3-pointers this season.

“(Kampe’s) been telling me that my whole career, ‘You can’t be so one-dimensional,’ ” Kangas said. “I been working at it, working at it. I always says, ‘It’s a work in progress,’ but I think I have improved a lot.”

Road weary
Oakland returned from its long road trip Friday and had practice at 10 a.m. on Saturday. Kampe joked after the game that he thought about calling the Saturday morning practice off because he was so tired from the trip.

“We got back Friday,” Kampe said. “Saturday morning we had practice at 10 and I woke up at about eight, and there was no way I wanted to come into practice. I haven’t played a minute so I couldn’t imagine what it was like for the players and what they felt like. In 31 years of coaching, I’ve never felt that way before.”

Kampe detailed the entire road trip and it was a mouth-full.

“We drove to Cleveland,” Kampe said. “We flew to Oregon, think of that time zone. Then we flew to Detroit, we were home for a day then we flew to Syracuse, New York. Then we flew to Iowa. We bused six hours to Kansas State. We bused two hours to Kansas City. We flew to Las Vegas. We were there five days in the Western time zone. Then we drove up the mountain into Utah, two-and-half hours, and played Southern Utah. We drove back down the mountain. We flew to Kansas City. We played Kansas City. We flew home and two days later we play Toledo.

“Now think about that,” Kampe added. “That’s why I said that. I’m serious I did not what to come to practice (Saturday). I was thinking to myself, ‘Maybe we should call it off.’ I’m getting old. Imagine what they felt like. I’m on them all the time. It’s not like, ‘Oh, let’s go play basketball.’ Everything has to be done right. We warm-up the same every day, we practice the same every day. Their being made to do things. They can’t take any breaks. That’s a long, long stretch. I’m really proud of them. I told them after game, ‘I’ve never been as proud of a group of kids as I am right now.’ ”

Oakland will actually have some time to practice this week before hosting Rochester College next Sunday.

Back-to-back big games for Benson
For the second straight game, Keith Benson played a huge role in an Oakland victory. Benson had 17 points (13 of them in the second half), nine rebounds and three blocks in the Grizzlies win over Toledo. He also shot 7-for-9 from the free-throw line.

Oakland coach Greg Kampe expressed some of the frustration and joy he has coaching Benson after the game.

“Keith is a guy that has been hard to coach,” Kampe said. “You try to figure him out because he is such a quiet kid. What motivates him? I’m a guy that gets after kids. How do I coach him? I have even worked with a sports physiologist on how is the best way to coach him. He really needs time and to work his way through things. He needs to make mistakes, figure it out and show him on tape because he is an intelligent kid. He’s a thinker. He’s not a reactor.

“When he first got here, he would get a rebound and he would go, ‘Oh I have the rebound, now my next move is to outlet it.’ Now he’s to the point where he can get a rebound outlet it and think, ‘Oh what’s my next move, I got to run back on offense.’ So he’s kid that thinks ... and it’s been problematic for him as a player because basketball is a reactionary game.

“He has all the ability in the world,” Kampe added. “He has worked very hard at getting physically stronger. He is still nowhere near strong enough, but he is only a sophomore. Our kids are starting to believe him and we got him the ball down the stretch. This is the first time in his career that in a close game the players believed in him enough to get him the basketball. I think today will do wonders for him.

“He had a huge game Thursday night for us,” Kampe continued. “The offense we are running, we have changed to this dribble-drive and we are spreading the floor, mixing in our sets, it’s really helped him because what it does is get him away from contact by spreading the floor so much, he is by himself a lot. You can’t really double him because we got many shooters around him so he’s starting to blossom.

“I’m sure there is going to be some step back in there because he’s come so far,” Kampe contiued. “He’s improved more than any other player I’ve coached in two years. The sky is the limit for him. He could end up being the greatest player in Oakland history or just end up being Keith Benson or end up never playing a minute after the next game. It’s such a crap shoot with him. But he is very talented and the thing I like about him is that I’m finally starting to see some emotion for him. And see that he does really want to become good. I think that’s why he is taking his steps. He’s finally found out how to release his emotion and become a good player. He is very well liked by his teammates, very well liked."

The opponent — Former Notre Dame assistant coach Gene Cross is in his first season as head coach of Toledo. The Rockets are off to a 2-5 start and are coming off a 57-56 win at home over UMass. Toledo was picked to finish fourth in the six-team MAC West in the league’s preseason poll.

The Rockets are averaging 59.3 points per game and have just two players scoring in double figures in senior guard Tyrone Kent (17.4 points and 5.4 rebounds per game) and senior guard Jonathan Amos (10.7 points per game).

Kent was the MAC’s leading scorer last season after averaging 16.9 points per game. He is averaging 2.6 3-pointers per game this season, but senior point guard Anthony Byrd (11-for-28) is the only other player on the team to make more than one 3-pointer this season.

Sophomore forward Justin Anyijong (6-foot-9) is the team’s leading rebounder at 5.9 per game and averages 7.9 points per game. Freshman Ian Salter (6-10) is the Rockets final starter and is averaging 2.9 points and 2.4 rebounds per game.

Toledo has one common opponent with Oakland in Cleveland State. The Rockets lost to Cleveland State, 77-56, in the O’Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic, while Oakland fell to the Vikings, 58-55 in the season opener for both teams.

Key matchup — Oakland’s Erik Kangas vs. Toledo’s Tyrone Kent. The Rockets entire offense revolves around Kent, so the Grizzlies will need to limit his touches and try to make the rest of the team beat them.

Kangas, who is three points away from 1,000 career points, is shooting just 37 percent this season. But if history is any indication, it’s likely just a matter of time before he gets hot and being at home for the first time might be just what the senior needs to get going. Oakland is 3-1 when Kangas scores 18 points or more this season.

Matchup history — Toledo is 7-3 against Oakland all-time and has won four of the last five. The Rockets defeated Oakland 71-69 last season and won the game on a buzzer-beater by Kent, who had 22 points in the victory. Oakland junior Johnathon Jones had 29 points and nine turnovers in the loss last season.

The Grizzlies are 14-38 all-time versus the MAC, but have won three of their last four with the lone loss being to Toledo. Oakland picked up its first win in school history over a Division I opponent when it beat Toledo, 86-65, back on Dec. 18, 1993. Prior to coming to Oakland, head coach Greg Kampe was an assistant coach at Toledo from 1979-1984 and a graduate assistant coach during the 1978-79 season.

The skinny — The Grizzlies will certainly be glad to play their first home game of the season, but might still be a big jet-lagged. Oakland had just two days of rest before Sunday’s game after beating UMKC on the road at Thursday. The Grizzlies will have a full week to rest after the Toledo game, but may still be feeling the affects of being on the road for 15 days. Oakland will have to feed off its home crowd and limit Kent to be successful.

The Grizzlies will also need to establish an inside presence with Keith Benson, Will Hudson and Dan Waterstradt. Benson scored a career-high 21 points in the Oakland’s win over UMKC Thursday and will look to build on that performance against Toledo.

North Dakota State 83, Oral Roberts 75
The Bison used a strong second half to defeat three-time defending league champion and preseason favorite Oral Roberts. NDSU (3-2, 1-0 Summit League) trailed by two at halftime, but started the second half on a 12-0 run to take a 40-30 lead.
Oral Roberts refused to go away, fighting back and taking the lead twice. The Golden Eagles trailed by just one, 68-67, with 3:50 left, but the Bison then went on an 11-2 run to put the game out of reach.
“I thought it was an entertaining game, especially if you’re a Bison fan,” Oral Roberts coach Scott Sutton told NDSU Athletics. “Both teams played very well on offense, especially the second half. I can’t say the same thing about the defense though. But give them credit, they’re a very good offensive team. I’m disappointed how we came out the second half. It’s very important to establish right away in the second half, and we didn’t do that. We battled back, and even took the lead at one point. Give those kids credits, they stepped up and hit some tough, tough shots and they were able to win this game tonight.”
The game between league favorites also drew an excited 4,165 fans to the Bison Sports Arena.
“Other than our place, this is by far the best atmosphere we have in this league,” Sutton told the Forum. “It was certainly an entertaining game.”
The Bison had five players score in double figures led by Ben Woodside’s 24 points and eight assists. Brett Winkelman added 20 points (18 in the second half) and 12 rebounds and Mike Nelson had 15 points.
“Obviously, at home we want to defend our home court,” Winkelman said. “Our confidence is sky high right now after that second half. We came out strong and we were knocking down shots.”
The early win over Oral Roberts is also huge for the Bison because now the worst they can do is split with the Golden Eagles.
“It’s important, because if you lose this one you have to go to Oral Roberts to try and get the split, which is hard to do,” North Dakota State coach Saul Phillips said. “This will be a completely different team the next time we see them. A kid like (Dominique) Morrison has had a significant impact on that team. I don’t know if you could ask for a true freshman to do more.”
Morrison led the Golden Eagles (1-5, 0-1) with 19 points on 6-for-8 shooting. Senior guard Robert Jarvis added 18 points, but shot 6-for-19 from the field, and Marcus Lewis had 16 points and eight rebounds.
Sutton didn’t have any complaints about his team’s offense, but was disappointed in his team’s defense in the second half.
“I told my guys it’s not a 20-minute game, it’s a 40-minute game,” Sutton said. “We need to be able to defend for long periods of time, and we haven’t been able to do that. It’ll take time to improve our defense, and we're learning, but it could be a struggle if we don’t learn quickly.”

Southern Utah 78, IPFW 62
Led by 21 points and seven rebounds from Davis Baker, the Thunderbirds improved to 2-0 in the Summit League. Southern Utah shot 57 percent and had four players finish in double figures. Dave Marek had 14 points and seven assists, true freshman Jake Nielson scored 14 points and Tyler Quinney added 12 points.
“The thing I was pleased with was that we were playing as a team,” Southern Utah coach Roger Reid told the Spectrum. “It’s tough to defend a team that has four or five guys that can score. We were getting everybody involved. Seventeen assists) means we’re an unselfish team. That means the players are looking to give their buddies an open shot.”
David Carson led IPFW with 20 points and shot 6-for-8 from the field. Deilvez Yearby added 13 points and Ben Botts finished with 10 points.

South Dakota State 71, Centenary 58
The Jacks (4-4, 1-0) used a dominate performance on the boards, 43-28, to start off Summit League play with a victory.
"Our goal is to outrebound every team we play by 10,” South Dakota State coach Scott Nagy told the Argus-Leader. “I can count on my hand in the years that I've been here - I'm on my 14th (year) - how may times we've lost when we've out-rebounded (a team) by 10. You're just not going to lose games when you do that."
Junior Garrett Callahan finished with 20 points and five rebounds, sophomore Anthony Cordove added 15 points and 10 rebounds and sophomore Dale Moss had 12 points and 12 rebounds off the bench.
“This was a big game for our kids," Nagy told the Argus-Leader. “And I felt like it was slipping away. But our guys did a nice job of pulling themselves back together. And we were fortunate Dale Moss showed up today.”
Junior Chase Adams led Centenary (2-7, 0-1) with 21 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Senior Nick Stallings added 10 points and seven rebounds and sophomore Roman Tubner finished with 10 points for the Gents, who shot 38 percent from the field.

Playing on pure will the Oakland men’s basketball team gutted out a 84-79 win at UMKC Thursday night to avoid going 0-2 to start Summit League play and give head coach Greg Kampe his 400th career win. The Golden Grizzlies were playing their final game of a seven-game, 15-day road trip and the last of nine straight road games.

The win was likely the Grizzlies’ biggest of the season, including the Oregon win, because it allows them to escape the December league games with a 1-1 record and end the road trip with a victory.

Now instead of being 0-2 and not being able to do a thing about it for almost a month, Oakland is a respectable 1-1, has the Southern Utah-UMKC trip out of the way and did it without Derick Nelson, who could be back when they resume league play.

"This is just an unbelievable win for us,” Oakland coach Greg Kampe told Oakland Athletics after the win over UMKC. "You know to go through what we have gone through and what happened on Tuesday night. The opening jump ball Tuesday night, and two possessions later I looked at JJ (Johnathon Jones) and he said, `my legs won't move.' It was just a survival that we could get out there with nobody getting hurt. And knowing the importance of tonight's game. To get in an 0-2 hole would just kill us. It was a bad trip, bad idea, but when the league made changes and went to 10 teams with the December schedule, and we had already contracted that tournament we were in. There was nothing we could do, we couldn't get out of it. We were stuck. These kids deserve a lot of credit. As I told him, it was one of the gutiest, and I hate using that work being journalism major myself, but it was one of the gutiest performances I have ever been associated with."

Erik Kangas’ 3-pointer with 53 seconds left is why he is one the league’s top clutch players, if not the best. The 3-pointer put Oakland up two, 79-77, after UMKC took its first lead of the game since the 8:03 mark of the first half, and Kangas drilled it after shooting 2-for-12 on his 3-point attempts to that point. The confidence he showed to take a difficult shot on the road and just take the wind completely out of UMKC’s sail was nothing short of amazing.

“I was thinking every shot feels good and I'm going to make it sooner than later,” said Kangas, who finished with 19 points. “Coach was calling out my name so I knew that I had to knock it down.”

"He was having a bad shooting night, and he turned down a couple of shots down the stretch when we had the five or seven point lead," Kampe said. "During the last timeout, when they were down at the free throw line. I said to him, 'I'm going to you no matter what and I know you'll make it.' And they took that one-point lead and we ran a set to him and he came off it and he buried it. There's no question in my mind that he was going to make it."

Keith Benson also turned in a solid performance. Benson scored a career-high 21 points and added eight rebounds and four blocks. Freshman Matt Samuels also played well, finishing with 10 points, including 4-for-4 from the free-throw line and had two assists in 17 minutes.

Random thoughts from the game
n I hate to keep harping the same thing, but UMKC’s 14 3-pointers is alarming. Opponents now have 79 3-pointers against Oakland this season, while the Grizzlies have made 49. That means opponents are averaging 26.3 points per game off 3-pointers, while Oakland is averaging 16.3, a difference of 10 points a game.

The zone defense creates turnovers (UMKC had 13), but in my opinion it should only be used in stretches. If team’s can gameplan against it the entire game, then they can find ways exploit it. If a team can’t knock down shots then they are in trouble (see Southeast Missouri State and the first half against Cleveland State). But if a team can you are in trouble, and while the Summit League may not have the big-time slashers and dominate big men it does have shooters.

Kampe commented after the Delaware State game, where Oakland played man in the second half, that the team had not practiced man-to-man. Maybe with some practice time and some home games finally, they will work on man defense or ways to shore up defending the 3 in the zone.

"They killed us on the boards," Kampe said. "I think that (the Kangaroos) are a hard team to rebound against because 39 of their 65 shots were 3s. And when you miss a 3, what does it do, it comes way out and way high and way long and they got 22 offensive rebounds. Spencer Johnson was a man out here on the boards and they shot their free throws really well.

"They're very improved and they are a scary team to play. Their style is unique and it's hard to rebound against them. Early on in the game we looked like we were going to dominate the boards. We scored, we got a couple put backs, but as the game went on and they spread us out and shot all those 3s. I don't think I have ever seen 40 of 60 shots be threes, but maybe us playing that zone had something to do with that. I thought if we guarded them man-to-man we would have to take those big guys out and I didn't want to do that. They had a hard time guarding (Keith) Benson inside."

n I will chalk the UMKC game up to being tired, but getting outrebounded by UMKC 44-36 and giving up 22 offensive rebounds is also alarming. The Kanagroos really wanted this game and had fresher legs so Spencer Johnson’s 10 offensive rebounds and Dane Brumagin 10 rebounds were probably just a result of pure hustle. Oakland shouldn’t get a free pass, but playing after all the travel in the last two weeks has to be grueling. It’s Thursday night and I’m still recovering from my trip to Las Vegas and I came back early Monday morning. On the season Oakland has got outrebounded 338-306 and lost the battle on the boards 35 to 26 to Southern Utah.

n Kampe once again voiced his opinion against the December league games after the win over UMKC.
"I hate it," Kampe said. "I absolutely hate it. Because at our level the non-conferences play the big boys, make money, get some exposure and give kids a chance to play in great arenas. That's what our level is all about. And you're doing that and then you have to go and play two games that mean your whole life. Now they'll say that the only thing that really counts is the tournament, but the seeding in the tournament is huge. Getting the off-day and everything else is huge. It's wrong and I'd like to see us look at it and change it."

n Dan Waterstradt off the bench is looking to be a good move. The senior had six points and five rebounds in the win over UMKC. Starting likely gives Benson and Will Hudson more confidence, while allowing Stradt to come off the bench with energy and hustle plays. It’s good to see him get going after a tough start because he’s such a hard worker and so passionate about the game. If he chooses, I think he could have a career in coaching.

n My last thought is on Drew Maynard, who was back out of the starting lineup against UMKC after starting three straight games. The freshman averaged 16.3 points per game while he was in the starting lineup, but also averaged 4.7 turnovers. Maynard was likely out of the starting lineup because of his turnovers. He is a talented player and certainly doesn’t lack confidence, if he can find a way to cut down on his turnovers he will see a lot of quality minutes, but if not, he could see time like he got Thursday.

The opponent — UMKC appears to be a young and upcoming team in the Summit League. The Kangaroos (3-5) start two freshman, two sophomores and preseason all-Summit League first team selection senior Dane Brumagin, who is averaging 14.9 points and 1.9 steals per game.

Sophomore Reggie Hamilton is building on his sold freshman season and looks like a future all-league player. Hamilton is ranked in the top 10 in the Summit League in eight statistical categories. He is fourth in the league in scoring (17.9 per game), third in assists (4.5 per game), first in steals (1.9 per game), ninth in field goal percentage (47.5 percent), seventh in free-throw percentage (83.3 percent), fourth in 3-point percentage (50 percent), fifth in 3-point field goals per game (2.8 per game) and ninth in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.1).

UMKC also starts two Michigan products in freshman forward Latreze Mushatt (Saginaw Arthur Hill) and freshman guard Dustin Dibble (Petoskey). Mushatt is averaging 10.9 points per game and is the team’s leading rebounder at 5.6 per game. Dibble, who was an AAU teammate of Oakland’s Blake Cushingberry and Drew Maynard, is averaging 3.5 points per game.

The Kangaroos lack height with 6-foot-7 reserve James Humphrey the tallest player on the team, but have seven players averaging over 18 minutes a game, who are all capable of knocking down 3-pointers. The Kangaroos are 58-for-176 (33 percent) on their 3-point attempts this season. Hamilton leads the team with 22 3-pointers this season and Brumagin had 18.

UMKC is playing its second home game of the season and first at the Municipal Auditorium. The Kangaroos lost to North Dakota, 61-56, on Nov. 14 at the Swinney Recreation Center on the campus of UMKC. It is also the conference opener for UMKC, which is 8-6 all-time in league openers.

Key matchup — Oakland’s Johnathon Jones vs. UMKC’s Reggie Hamilton. Both players do so much for their team on both ends of the floor. Jones has been the focal point of Oakland's offense and also the opponents’ defensive gameplan. His scoring is down in his last three games, but his assists are up. Jones averaged 13 points, 12 shots and 5.7 assists a game in the Grizzlies last three compared to 18.6 points, 20 shots and 3.6 assists per game in the first five games. Hamilton averaged 19.4 points, 5.6 assists and 2.9 steals per game during UMKC’s recently completed five-game trip to Florida. Both players need to provide scoring and get their teammates involved, whoever wins this matchup chances are their team will get the victory.

Matchup history — Oakland is 16-6 all-time against UMKC, including 6-4 on the road, and went 2-0 last season with a 114-105 overtime victory at home on Dec. 6, 2007 and a 85-75 victory at the Municipal Audtorium on March 1. Brumagin scored 40 points in the first meeting, including seven 3-pointers before fouling out at the end of regulation. Hamilton added 19 points. Derick Nelson led Oakland with 31 points, Erik Kangas added 22 points, Jones had 13 points and 13 assists and Keith Benson had likely his best game of the season with 17 points and 13 rebounds. In the second meeting Jones had 24 points and five assists, Kangas added 21 points and Nelson had 12 points and 14 rebounds. Hamilton led UMKC with 23 points and Brumagin added 15 points.

The skinny — Oakland (3-5, 0-1 Summit League) needs to avoid starting off the conference season 0-2 at all costs after a disappointing loss at Southern Utah on Tuesday. The Golden Grizzlies have to be exhausted after being on the road since Nov. 20 and making the long trip from Cedar City, Utah to Kansas City, Missouri. Oakland has to give its best effort even though it’s the final game of a 15-day, seven-game road trip and the final game of nine-straight on the road to start the season.

UMKC has not played since Sunday and has had a few days to practice and prepare for Oakland, while the Grizzlies had to play Tuesday and then travel to Kansas City. The Kangaroos are also excited to play their first home game since Nov. 14, especially after losing its first home game to Idaho.

"I think our players will be excited because they are finally back home," UMKC coach Matt Brown told the Kansas City Star.

To be successful the Grizzlies will likely need to limit the Kangaroos 3-pointers. UMKC is averaging over seven 3-pointers a game and has two guys that can really got hot in Brumagin and Hamilton. Oakland should also try to get its big men involved early, especially with a distinct height advantage. A good start is also key, especially with potentially tired legs.

A few people have asked for my thoughts on Oakland’s loss to Southern Utah and while it’s hard for me to comment on a game I didn’t see (still waiting to find out if it will be available on-demand), here are some things that standout looking at the box score.

The first major thing is the Golden Grizzlies really struggled defensively. Oakland allowed a Southern Utah team that was averaging 65.4 points a game and shooting 43 percent from the field to score 82 points and shoot 54.5 percent.

Also the Thunderbirds had made just 10 3-pointers all season, but made five in the first half against Oakland, shooting 5-for-10. The Grizzlies did limit their attempts in the second half, with SUU going 1-for-2, but part of that could be the Thunderbirds having a lead.

It also appears, based on the comments from Southern Utah coach Roger Reid, that the Thunderbirds were prepared for Oakland’s zone defense and found ways to exploit.

"We watched three films and I thought our players really exploited what they try and do in the zone,” Reid told the Spectrum. "We executed well. I don't think I've coached a team that executed better against a zone. We've come a long way from the first team that zoned us."

"We knew what they were doing," said Tyler Quinney, who scored a career-high 35 points. "We took home our scouting reports and studied them."

Quinney also had nine rebounds, shot 11-for-16 from the field and shot 13-for-15 from the free-throw line.

“I don't think Tyler Quinney has played any better," Southern Utah coach Roger Reid told the Spectrum. "That is a yeoman's work and tremendous effort. (Him playing two 40-minute games) shows great courage and pride."

Quinney’s fellow big man John Clifford added 12 points and nine rebounds, which indicates Oakland struggled to guard inside. The Thunderbirds scored 32 points in the paint and Will Hudson played just 12 minutes and fouled out.

The Thunderbirds’ Davis Baker added 22 points and hit three 3-pointers, despite hitting just five in the teams’ first five games.

Offensively, the Grizzlies got solid contributions from freshman Drew Maynard and Blake Cushingberry. Maynard finished with 17 points and four rebounds, but had five turnovers and now has 21 turnovers in his last four games. Cushingberry added 14 points and hit Oakland’s only three 3-pointers of the game.

Senior Erik Kangas’ streak of 31 straight games with at least one 3-pointer came to an end. He finished with five points and played 40 minutes on what can’t be a fully-healed ankle. Kangas was defended by Southern Utah’s Dave Marek the entire game.

"Dave did a great job on Kangas. He could not get a shot up," Quinney told the Specturm. "When you frustrate a player, it's fun."

Reid addd: "Kangas is a tremendous shooter. I told (Dave) before the game, 'If you do the job on him, we'll win the game.'"

Junior guard Johnathon Jones added 16 points and six assists in 39 minutes, but even Jones has to be getting tired. He has sat out a grand total of 11 minutes in eight games this season and speed is a big part of his game.

"Our coaches were really focused on him," Davis said of Jones. "We scouted them really well. We knew every play."

Shooting 13-for-21 from the free throw line is also a concern, but it didn’t matter in this loss.

To sum things up, this is a bad loss for the Grizzlies. Losing at Southern Utah is one thing, losing by 16 is another. Oakland has to respond against UMKC on Thursday. The league race could be wide-open this year, but an 0-2 start will be hard to comeback from.

1. Oakland (3-4) — The Grizzlies proved they can win without both Derick Nelson and Erik Kangas in their win over Delaware State and then Kangas returned with six 3-pointers in their win over Southeast Missouri State. Oakland will play its first home game Sunday against Toledo, but first must play the final two games of a nine straight on the road.
2. North Dakota State (2-2) — The Bison picked up a nice win at Northern Arizona before falling at Minnesota. NDSU kicks off league play by hosting Oral Roberts. The Bison’s big three (Ben Woodside, Brett Winkelman and Mike Nelson) are averaging 52.8 points per game.
3. IUPUI (4-2) — The Jaguars have won three straight (IU East, Eastern Illinois and Western Michigan) and host Indiana-South Bend Tuesday before kicking off league play. Senior Gary Patterson returned in IUPUI’s win over the Broncos and scored 16 points.
4. IPFW (3-3) — The Mastodons beat Eastern Illinois on a buzz-beater by David Carson, but then lost on a buzzer-beater to Ball State Monday. Carson leads IPFW in scoring at 14.7 points per game. IPFW plays at Southern Utah and at UMKC to open league play.
5. Oral Roberts (1-4) — The Golden Eagles still don’t have a win over a Division I opponent, have lost three straight on the road and have to go to the Dakotas to start league play. Senior guard Robert Jarvis picked up Summit League player of the week honors after averaging 25 points a game last week. Jarvis is averaging 20 points a game on the season.
6. UMKC (3-5) — The Roos went 2-3 during their trip to Florida, beating Bradley and Florida Gulf Coast and falling to Florida Atlantic, Richmond and Florida. Sophomore Reggie Hamilton is averaging 17.9 points and 4.5 assists per game.
7. Centenary (2-6) — The Gents lost by just six to LSU, 64-58, and followed that up with a win over Alcorn State and a six-point loss to Northwestern State in overtime Monday. Centenary kicks off conference play with a trip to the Dakotas.
8. South Dakota State (3-4) — The Jacks went 1-1 in the Cancun Challenge with a win over Central Arkansas and a two-point loss to Central Florida. Juniors Kai Williams and Garrett Callahan both averaged 18 points a game in Cancun.
9 Western Illinois (2-5) — A David DuBois layup lifted the Leathernecks over Texas-Pan American in the Global Sports Classic in Las Vegas. WIU also lost in overtime to Coastal Carolina in Las Vegas. DuBois is averaging 16.9 points per game and is the only Leatherneck player averaging in double figures.
10. Southern Utah (1-4) — The Thunderbirds put a scare into Boise State, but weren’t able to capture their first win over a Division I opponent. SUU played much better against Boise State than it did in a 10-point loss to Division II Seattle Pacific.