Today’s Game The Golden Eagles continue play in the Cancun Challenge when they visit Virginia on Saturday ... following today’s game the Golden Eagles travel to Cancun where they will square off with Sam Houston State and either Rider or Florida A&M ... including Wednesday’s game at Stanford, the trip will cover over 6,500 air miles ... ORU has never defeated an ACC team while it was a member of the conference (0-7) ... The Golden Eagles are 3-13 against current ACC-member schools, with all three wins coming against Virginia Tech ... sophomore forward Dominique Morrison will start his 35th consecutive game on Saturday.
The Coaches ORU’s Scott Sutton is in his 11th season as the head coach of the Golden Eagles, and his 15th overall with the program. Sutton is 186-127 (.594) as head coach and ranks second in school history in career wins. He is the son of legendary coach Eddie Sutton, and the younger brother of former Oklahoma State head coach Sean Sutton. Scott Sutton is a two-time Summit League Coach of the Year (2002, 2008) and earned NABC District 12 co-Coach of the Year in 2005, sharing the award with his father. In 2007, Sutton was a finalist for the Clair Bee Coaching Excellence Award. Since the start of the 2001-02 season, Sutton has posted a 164-95 (.633) record, including four 20-win seasons, four consecutive Summit League regular-season titles (2005-08), and three straight NCAA Tournament appearances (2006-08). Virginia’s Tony Bennett is 2-1 in his first season with the Cavaliers, and 71-34 in four seasons overall.
Stanford Leftovers Sophomore forward Dominique Morrison set career highs in points (31), field goals (13), three-point field goals (4), rebounds (9) and minutes (39) ... Morrison’s scoring effort was the top performance by an ORU player since Robert Jarvis scored 34 against South Florida on Dec. 22, 2008 ... junior guard Roderick Pearson’s buzzer-beater was the first for ORU since Luke Spencer-Gardner’s 30-footer against Utah Valley on Dec. 11, 2004 ... freshman Damen Bell-Holter scored a season-high 12 points ... the win was ORU’s first over a Pac-10 school since a 68-48 win over USC in the 2005 Great Alaska Shootout ...it also gave ORU a win over a BCS-conference team for the sixth straight season ... Scott Sutton is 14 wins shy of becoming the second coach in school history with 200 wins ... the victory was ORU’s first non-conference road win since Nov. 24, 2007 at Lamar ... ORU does have two neutral site non-conference wins since the Lamar victory, however.
At Home in Mabee Center ORU has experienced a basketball rebirth over the last six seasons, and nowhere has that been more evident than in games played at Mabee Center. Since the start of the 2002-03 season, ORU is 76-12 (.864) at home and an amazing 51-5 (.911) in conference play in that time.
Kansas City Kings The 2009-10 Golden Eagles roster contains a rarity for any program: three players from the same out-of-state city. Juniors Michael Craion (Ruskin HS) and Rod Pearson (Raytown South HS), and sophomore Dominique Morrison (Raytown HS) all live in Kansas City, Mo. The last time ORU had three or more players on the roster from the same out-of-state city was in 1987-88 when four players hailed from Charlotte, N.C.: Rodney Davis (Myers Park HS), Anthony Houston (Harding HS), Jules Springs (West HS) and Haywoode Workman (Myers Park HS).
ORU in Summit League Play ORU is 132-56 (.702) in regular season Summit League play all-time in 12 seasons. ORU owns the second-best winning percentage in League history, behind only former member Missouri State’s .767 (79-24) clip. The Golden Eagles have captured five regular-season titles (‘99, ‘05, ‘06, ‘07, ‘08) and three tournament championships (‘06, ‘07, ‘08). Since the 2004-05 season, ORU is 68-14 (.829) in Summit League regular season play, and 79-16 (.832) when including Summit League Tournament games.
Giant Killers Every season since 2002-03, ORU has pulled off at least one upset of a power conference team. After knocking off Stanford on Nov. 18, the Golden Eagles have three other chances to add to their growing hit list: at Virginia (Nov. 21), vs. Missouri (Dec. 9), and at Louisville (Dec. 16). Date Opponent Score Notes 11/26/02 Arkansas (H) 76-64 First win over Arkansas since ‘96 11/30/02 Wichita State (H) 76-71 Part of 6-0 start to season 12/20/03 Wichita State (A) 76-73 First game in WSU’s renovated Koch Arena 12/20/04 Georgetown (N)* 81-63 Eagles defeated Hoyas squad with Jeff Green, Roy Hibbert 2/19/05 Missouri State (A) 86-76 Sutton defeats the man he replaced as ORU head coach 11/23/05 Southern Cal (N)^ 68-48 First win over a Pac-10 team in 23 years 11/15/06 No. 3 Kansas (A) 78-71 Highest-ranked opponent ever defeated 12/28/06 Seton Hall (N)% 76-74 Second win over Big East team in three years 12/20/07 Oklahoma State (N)& 74-59 First Sutton vs. Sutton battle goes to little bro 12/22/08 South Florida (N)* 86-63 Third win over Big East foe in five years 11/18/09 Stanford (A)# 83-81 Roderick Pearson’s buzzer beater the difference *-Rainbow Classic; ^-Great Alaska Shootout; %-BYU Holiday Classic; &-All-College Classic; *-San Juan Shootout; #-Cancun Challenge
McClintock, Morton Suffer Season-Ending Injuries in Same Practice Freshman guard Hunter McClintock and redshirt freshman forward Tim Morton will miss the 2009-10 season after suffering season-ending ACL injuries during the same practice on October 30. A projected starter in the back court, McClintock suffered the injury to his right knee when he stepped on a teammate’s foot during a routine drill. He is expected to have surgery at the end of the month and will be out up to six months. Morton sustained a left ACL tear about 20 minutes after McClintock’s injury. He will also have surgery later this month and will be out up to six months. The injuries, combined with APR penalties, leave ORU with just 10 scholarship players at the start of the 2009-10 season. Additionally, junior forward/center Javier Nasarre missed the first two games as he continued to recover from August right ankle surgery. Nasarre made his season debut on Wednesday at Stanford.
Angsomwine Inks NLI During Early Signing Period Chris Angsomwine has signed a National Letter-of-Intent to play basketball at Oral Roberts University, head coach Scott Sutton announced today. A 6-9, 215-pound forward at Kilgore (Texas) College, Angsomwine is ORU’s first 2010 signee. He will have two years of eligibility when he enrolls next fall. Angsomwine is in his first year with Rangers after spending last season at Harcum College in suburban Philadelphia. Kilgore is 2-0 with Angsomwine averaging 6.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. As a freshman at Harcum Angsomwine averaged 1.2 points and 1.9 rebounds while playing in 15 games for the Bears.
Fox College Sports, KGEB to Broadcast All Home Games For the second straight season ORU Athletics has partnered with University-owned Golden Eagle Broadcasting and Fox College Sports to televise all men’s basketball regular-season home games. Both outlets will also carry the weekly ORU Sports Report. Golden Eagle Broadcasting affiliate KGEB will televise all home games locally, with weekend games showing live and weekday contests tape-delayed at 10 p.m. Fox College Sports will televise all games live nationally on cable and satellite systems across the country. Mabee Center Productions will handle production duties for all broadcasts. Fox College Sports is available in over 40 million households across the country on most major cable systems including Time Warner, Comcast and Charter Communications, as well as DirecTV (Ch. 617). FCS consists of three channels: FCS Atlantic, FCS Central and FCS Pacific. Rob Loeber will again serve as the play-by-play announcer for all broadcasts. Color duties will be split between former ORU standout Mickey Michalec and longtime analyst Bryndon Manzer.
ORU Picked Second in Summit League Preseason Poll ORU was picked second in the annual Summit League preseason poll of head coaches, media members and Sports Information Directors. Oakland was the overwhelming preseason favorite, garnering 34 of 35 first place votes while third place IUPUI received the other. After Oakland, ORU and IUPUI, the others are South Dakota State, North Dakota State, IPFW, Southern Utah, Western Illinois, UMKC, and Centenary.
Ford, Morrison Named Preseason All-Summit League Forwards Kevin Ford and Dominique Morrison were named to the Summit League’s preseason second team. Ford, a senior, averaged 9.4 points and 7.4 rebounds while Morrison, a sophomore, averaged 9.6 points and 3.2 rebounds in starting all 31 games. Both players were named to the 2009 Summit League All-Newcomer team.
Outstanding Home Schedule The Golden Eagles boast one of their most exciting home schedules in recent memory this season. ORU hosts Missouri (Dec. 9), New Mexico (Dec. 23) and Tulsa (Jan. 20) in addition to 10 other home conference and non-conference games. Missouri is the first Big 12 squad to visit Mabee Center since Texas Tech in 2001, and the TU game will be the first played after December since 1997.
ORU Chosen for 2010 BracketBusters For the fifth time in six years, ORU has been selected to participate in the ESPN BracketBusters. The eighth annual BracketBusters event, a two-day men’s college basketball extravaganza pitting potential NCAA Tournament hopefuls against each other Feb. 19-20, will feature 11 nationally televised games – on either ESPN2 or ESPNU -- selected from a pool of 98 teams. ORU is 1-3 in Bracket Busters-related games. The Golden Eagles hosted nationally televised games against Utah State (2007) and Creighton (2008).
ORU Basketball on the Radio All ORU games can be heard in northeastern Oklahoma on “The Sports Animal”, 97.1 FM and 1550 AM. Geoff Haxton begins his third full season as the play-by-play voice of the Golden Eagles. Fans can also listen on-line at www.orugoldeneagles.com. The pregame show begins 15 minutes prior to tip-off.
The ORU Coaches Hour Join ORU coaches and athletes every Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. for the ORU Coaches Hour, broadcast live from Pepper’s Grill at 91st & Delaware and carried on FM 97.1 “The Sports Animal”. Tulsa radio personality Geoff Haxton hosts the one-hour call-in show. Men’s head coach Scott Sutton and women’s head coach Jerry Finkbeiner are regular guests.
About ORU Founded in 1963 by evangelist Oral Roberts, ORU is a 400-acre campus located in South Tulsa. ORU boasts a total enrollment of over 5,000 students from all 50 states and more than 30 foreign countries. Some famous ORU alums include entertainer Kathy Lee Gifford, Pulitzer-prize nominated author Clifton Taulbert and two-time NCAA track & field national champion and 2008 Olympic silver medalist Andretti Bain. “The Simpsons” creator Matt Groening briefly attended ORU, and subsequently, many of the characters on the show are modeled after former ORU students and staff members. In fact, if you look closely over Ned Flanders’ fireplace, his college diploma reads “Oral Roberts University”.
About The Summit League Now in its 28th year as an NCAA Division I athletics conference, The Summit League is in its third year under that name. In May 2007, the Presidents Council embraced the Summit Plan, a strategic plan that places a renewed emphasis on improving the academic and athletic performances of all its student-athletes. Included in the plan was the creation of a new image of the conference and the unveiling of a new name. The Summit League is the third name the conference has held as an NCAA sanctioned league. The Summit League’s 10 member schools are Centenary College of Louisiana, IPFW, IUPUI, UMKC, North Dakota State University, Oakland University, ORU, South Dakota State University, Southern Utah University and Western Illinois University. The member schools pride themselves on providing quality athletic, academic and social experiences for their student-athletes. The Summit League sponsors 19 championship sports, which include: baseball, men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s cross country, men’s and women’s golf, men’s and women’s soccer, softball, men’s and women’s swimming & diving, men’s and women’s indoor track & field, men’s and women’s outdoor track & field, men’s and women’s tennis, and volleyball. The League offices are located in suburban Chicago.
Up Next The Golden Eagles head to Mexico for the final two games of the Cancun Challenge. ORU will face Sam Houston State, 12:30 p.m., Tuesday at the Moon Palace Resort. The Golden Eagles match-up with either Florida A&M or Rider on Wednesday afternoon.
Courtesy: ORU Media Relations
