ORU vs. Denver - game notebook

Stage set for Sioux Falls: Both the men’s and women’s fields are set for the Summit League tournament in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Both Oral Roberts teams head north as No. 3 seeds.

The ORU men will take on IUPUI in the quarterfinals on Sunday at 8:30 p.m. The ORU women will play North Dakota State at 2:30 p.m. on the same day.

With a win, the ORU men would play the winner of North Dakota State and Denver. The ORU women are on the side of the bracket as Western Illinois and IUPUI.

The championship game on the women’s side is at 1 p.m. on March 10. The men’s title game is the same say at 8 p.m.

Summit League tournament schedule

Men

Saturday

No. 1 South Dakota State vs. No. 8 Western Illinois, 6 p.m.

No. 2 North Dakota State vs. No. 7 Denver, 8:30 p.m.

Sunday

No. 4 IPFW vs. No. 5 South Dakota, 6 p.m.

No. 3 Oral Roberts vs. No. 6 IUPUI, 8:30 p.m.

Monday

South Dakota State-Western Illinois winner vs. North Dakota State-Denver winner, 6 p.m.

IPFW-South Dakota winner vs. Oral Roberts-IUPUI winner, 8:30 p.m.

Tuesday

Championship game, 8 p.m.

Women

Saturday

No. 1 South Dakota vs. No. 8 IPFW, noon

No. 2 South Dakota State vs. No. 7 Denver, 2:30 p.m.

Sunday

No. 4 Western Illinois vs. No. 5 IUPUI, noon

No. 3 Oral Roberts vs. North Dakota State, 2:30 p.m.

Monday

South Dakota-IPFW winner vs. Western Illinois-IUPUI winner , noon

South Dakota State-Denver winner vs. Oral Roberts-North Dakota State winner, 2:30 p.m.

Tuesday

Championship game, 1 p.m.

Senior farewell: It was the final home game for ORU’s Denell Henderson and Adrion Webber on Saturday night in front of 3,720 fans. Henderson finished with 13 points and three rebounds in ORU’s 60-57 victory. Webber logged five points and three rebounds.

Griffin throws down: Denver may have lost the game, but it came up with the best – and only – dunk of the night. In the first half, Denver’s Cam Griffin was presented with a wide open lane, which he gladly accepted and used to throw down a one-handed rim rocker.

Griffin led the Pioneers with 14 points.

Big board issue: One area of concern for ORU following the win over Denver was the rebounding department. The Pioneers are the country’s worst rebounding team, and they managed to out-rebound ORU 25-21.

Bobby Word led the Golden Eagles with six rebounds, and Obi Emegano had five.

Backboard bonanza: There was a brief delay early in the second half when part of the backboard padding came loose on the basket at Denver’s end. ORU’s Bobby Word attempted to corral a rebound, but the ball fell from his hands out of bounds. He threw the ball inbounds out of frustration, but in doing so he jarred free the padding.

All it took was a little packing tape and a ladder to come to a resolution. The delay only last a couple of minutes.

North Dakota State at ORU — the good, the bad and the reality

Well, that was an eventful 30 hours for the Oral Roberts basketball team.

First Korey Billbury gets suspended at 3 p.m. on Wednesday. Then supposedly the Golden Eagles have their best practice of the year on Wednesday, per Obi Emegano. Then ORU dump-trucks North Dakota State, 74-58, at the Mabee Center on Thursday night. Once the dust settled from that, the Golden Eagles were somehow in third place by themselves in the Summit League.

Now, take a minute and catch your breath. That was a whirlwind.

No one could have seen that coming. Sure, ORU bound together and played a great game, but to basically chase North Dakota — the league's co-leader before getting drilled — out of the arena is something no one could have predicted.

And you could tell it was bothering NDSU. After all, a harmless cameraman was doing his job in the second half when a NDSU assistant coach and a manager tried to run the cameraman off. It ended with the manager putting notecards over the camera lens.

If you want to see it, here you go:

http://espn.go.com/watchespn/player/_/id/2312363/

Fast forward to the 1:17.51 mark and enjoy. Washington Nationals play-by-play voice and Tulsa native Bob Carpenter even zinged the Bison for being so silly.

"They're about to do something we've never seen before in college basketball," Carpenter proclaimed.

So true. North Dakota State deployed a full-court press after that. Diabolical stuff.

Look, I get it. You don't want people knowing what you're running. But the cameraman wasn't even zooming in on the huddle; he was basically getting a wide-angled shot of the huddle. No harm, no foul.

But clearly North Dakota State was frazzled and just made a poor judgment call in a haste. Happens to the best of us.

OK, now to the game itself...

The good: Emegano nearly burst into flames he was so hot in the first half against the Bison. He had 10 points by the 12:39 mark of the first half — all of that after not scoring his first points until the game was 4 minutes and 50 seconds old. He got hot and he got hot quick.

Emegano finished with a career high 34 points on 12 of 17 shooting. He was 3 of 4 from deep and 7 of 11 at the free throw line. Oh, and he grabbed eight rebounds. All in 38 minutes — and against the soon-to-be Player of the Year in the league, NDSU's Lawrence Alexander.

"He deserves it," ORU coach Scott Sutton said about Alexander likely getting MVP honors in the Summit League. "I think Obi showed tonight that he may be the best player in the league."

Strong words from Sutton. But true at times this season.

- Aaron Young's defense was stellar against Alexander. Just brilliant, really.

Sutton credited the team's defense, but I'm going to give about 83 percent of the praise to Young. He was glued to Alexander all night long. Alexander finished with 11 points — nine in the second half and mostly during garbage time late.

Just masterful work by Young.

- Bobby Word stepped up and took over Billbury's spot to the tune of 20 points and seven rebounds in 37 minutes. Someone had to answer the ball and he did.

- It was imperative that ORU get off to a good start. The Golden Eagles did that, leading 19-4 before the 10-minute mark of the first half.

The game was never much of a contest beyond that point.

- Some dude made a halfcourt putt — into a tiny hole underneath the basket — for $1,000 in the first half. I'd classify that as really, really good.

The bad: Darian Harris, Jabbar Singleton, Brandon Conley, Adrion Webber and Dederick Lee combined for four points. Sure, Emegano and Word couldn't miss, but those five guys have to contribute, especially with Billbury gone.

Same song, different verse.

- Outside of Emegano's 11 foul shots, ORU didn't get to the free throw line much. Golden Eagles finished 10 of 16 at the stripe.

Denell Henderson, Albert Owens and Young have to attack the rim and draw some fouls for some easy points.

The reality: ORU got a tremendous amount of help from Denver and Omaha this week. Denver blew out South Dakota, and Omaha somehow knocked off IPFW, leaving third place there for ORU to snatch when the regular season ends Saturday.

That would include a likely quarterfinal matchup against IUPUI or Denver at the league tournament, followed by a semifinal showdown with North Dakota State. ORU has played NDSU tough twice this season, so that can't be a great feeling for the Bison.

Another plus, it keeps ORU away from South Dakota State — who has rail-roaded ORU twice this year.

Here's where things stand before the regular season wraps up tomorrow...

South Dakota State - 12-3

N. Dakota State - 12-4

ORU - 9-6

IPFW - 8-7

South Dakota - 8-7

Denver - 6-9

IUPUI - 6-9

Omaha - 4-11

Western Illinois - 3-12

Saturday schedule

Omaha at IUPUI, noon

South Dakota State at South Dakota, 4 p.m.

Western Illinois at IPFW, 6 p.m.

Denver at ORU, 7 p.m.

6A East - semifinal matchups

106

Mason Naifeh (Union) vs. Brandon Blose (Sapulpa)

Tyler Lawley (Broken Arrow) vs. Cody Randall (Sand Springs)

113

Garrett Rowe (Choctaw) vs. Tracy Reeder (Claremore)

Dylan Schickram (Ponca City) vs. Jack Karstetter (Sand Springs)

120

Daton Fix (Sand Springs) vs. TaJuan Daniels (Broken Arrow)

Connor Shanks (Edmond Memorial) vs. Hunter Youell (Owasso)

126

Markus Simmons (Broken Arrow) vs. Jordan Wendlandt (Bixby)

Chasen Umholtz (Jenks) vs. Cody Karstetter (Sand Springs)

132

Beau Bratcher (Sand Springs) vs. Baylor Smith (Owasso)

Easton Hudson (Bixby) vs. Caleb Wise (Broken Arrow)

138

Davian Jeffries (Broken Arrow) vs. Caleb Basma (Sand Springs)

Gabe Evans (Union) vs. Jaryn Curry (Choctaw)

145

Brandon Conrad (Owasso) vs. Jake Pattinson (Jenks)

Zane Basma (Sand Springs) vs. Christian Mayhue (Union)

152

Paden Bailey (Broken Arrow) vs. Kaleb Hinds (Claremore)

Michael Singleton (Sand Springs) vs. Shade Gesser (Union)

160

Christian Kaser (Broken Arrow) vs. Lane Lettich (Sand Springs)

James Buckhanan (Muskogee) vs. Moses Mayhue (Union)

170

Isaiah Page (Broken Arrow) vs. Derek Brasel (Claremore)

Matt Horrocks (Union) vs. Drew Hinkle (Jenks)

182

Skyler Haynes (Broken Arrow) vs. Trace Fleischman (Sand Springs)

Kamrin Mallard (Union) vs. Jared Kerr (Bixby)

195

Steven Allen (Broken Arrow) vs. Imani Woodley (Edmond Memorial)

Cole Dixon (Sand Springs) vs. Cody Adams (Bixby)

220

Chance Wenglewski (Union) vs. Adonis Cole (Muskogee)

Nic Roller (Bixby) vs. Kyler Childers (Sand Springs)

285

Que Overton (Jenks) vs. Connor Haff (Owasso)

Jordan Kimbrell (Ponca City) vs. Trenton Lieurance (Broken Arrow)

ORU at Omaha — the good, the bad and the reality

Most of the Summit League stormed through Omaha this season, and Oral Roberts was no different on Thursday night. Well, to say the Golden Eagles blitzed their way through Omaha is misleading.

Much like South Dakota, ORU managed to make it out of Omaha with a win. Last night's final: 81-78.

It's a game that good teams win, plain and simple. If ORU loses to Omaha, frankly, it's a horrendous loss.

But credit to the Golden Eagles for avoiding the pitfall.

Couple things: ORU matches up really well with Omaha, and Omaha's style of play — we'll call it the no-defense style  suits ORU well. Omaha likes to get up and down the floor quickly, and the Golden Eagles have a lot of players that would probably like to play like that all the time.—

ORU tends to get stagnant when it slows down the pace, so playing a team like Omaha keeps the Golden Eagles full of energy throughout the game.

(Credit to Geoff Haxton for pointing that out during last night's broadcast.) For some reason, ORU can't kick itself into gear unless it picks up the pace on both ends.

Finally, ORU would love to see Omaha in Sioux Falls at the Summit League tournament. But Omaha isn't eligible for the tournament since it's still transitioning to Division I. ORU will have to wait until next year to face its favorite opponent.

The good: It was Korey Billbury's turn to have some fun against Omaha at the Mabee Center earlier this season, so Obi Emegano took his turn on Thursday night. The junior guard from Edmond had 28 points, four rebounds, three steals, and he also went 7 of 13 from the field and 13 of 19 from the free throw line. Aside from wanting a better performance at the foul line, that's your prototypical Emegano game — plenty of points, some steals, getting to the foul line and making close to 50 percent from the field.

- Denell Henderson — ignore going 4 of 13 from the field — bounced back from his late-arriving, doghouse-finding game Saturday and had 11 points and eight rebounds against Omaha. He included three blocks and a shutdown effort of Omaha's Mike Rostampour, who had zero points and only four rebounds.

Again, those are the Henderson performances the team is looking for every game.

- Billbury's shooting touch is off-kilter right now, but he manged to score 14 points, along with 10 rebounds and four steals. And underrated part of Billbury's game is his knack to get involved in other areas, even if he's not scoring.

- Darian Harris had eight rebounds. Golden Eagles have to love that.

- ORU made 50 percent (6 of 12) of its 3-point shots. Anything better than 40 percent, you'll take anytime anywhere.

The bad: Emegano's two missed free throws late. ORU played with fire up three with two seconds left.

Emegano missed a pair of freebies, but luckily for him Omaha's Tre'Shawn Thurman missed a trey at the buzzer.

ORU's tendency to miss late free throws has been a killer all year long.

- Golden Eagles had 14 turnovers. Not great, but playing at Omaha's pace can do that sometimes.

- ORU's bench only scored 13 points, led by four apiece from Brandon Conley and Albert Owens. Golden Eagles need more than that from the reserves each night.

(Side note: Owens' four points in five minutes is a silver lining.)

The reality: ORU won a game it HAD TO win. Now the focus shifts to South Dakota State (Saturday) and North Dakota State (Thursday). Those are two good chances for the Golden Eagles to find out where they stand right now.

Add bonus from beating Omaha: ORU will now be the answer to the trivia question, "who won the final game played at Omaha's Ralston Arena?" That's better than being the answer to "who lost the final game played in Omaha's Ralston Arena?" Omaha has to live with that one.

Current Summit League picture...

In contention for a league title

1. South Dakota State (20-8, 13-3) - 2 games left (vs. Oral Roberts; at South Dakota).

2. North Dakota State (19-8, 11-3) - 2 games left (vs. IPFW; at Oral Roberts).

Fighting for third

3. IPFW (15-11, 8-5) - 3 games left (at North Dakota State; vs. Omaha; vs. Western Illinois).

4. Oral Roberts (15-12, 8-5) - 3 games left (at South Dakota State; vs. North Dakota State; vs. Denver).

5. South Dakota (14-14, 7-6) - 3 conference games left (vs. IUPUI; vs. Denver; vs. South Dakota State).

The rest

6. IUPUI (9-18, 5-8)

7. Denver (10-16, 4-9)

8. Western Illinois (8-16, 3-10)

9. Omaha (9-17, 3-11)

2015 - HS wrestling playoff preview

Prepare yourself, some of the best wrestling of the season is set to commence this week.

All four classes of Oklahoma high school wrestling will begin with the regional rounds this week, only to be followed by the state tournament in Oklahoma City next weekend.

Quick reminder: The top four spots in each weight class advance to the state tournament. That makes the semifinals of the consolation round vastly entertaining every year. The finals are always high drama, but the conso semifinals are exhilarating, too.

With that, here's a preview of each regional...

Class 6A East - at Broken Arrow

Favorite: Broken Arrow. The Tigers have squared off twice with Sand Springs this season, beating the Sandites in a dual (35-25) on Jan. 15 and in the Sapulpa tournament the two days that followed (Jan. 16-17). Broken Arrow and Sand Springs clashed in three championship matches at the Jerry Billings Invitational in Sapulpa with Broken Arrow prevailing in two of those. Expect plenty of quality matchups between the two schools this weekend.

Darkhorse: Sand Springs. The Sandites had to sit and watch last weekend while other top teams clashed for dual state titles. That had to of angered them somewhat. The combination of Cody Randall (106), Jack Karstetter (113), Daton Fix (126), Cody Karstetter (132), Michael Singleton (152) and Kyler Childers (220) should be locked in and ready to go, and Broken Arrow would be wise to watch out for the Sandites.

Watch out for... Union. Mason Naifeh (106-113) and Chance Wenglewski (220-285) give the Redskins a solid starting place come playoff time. The 220 field could end up being pretty deep at Broken Arrow, so don't be surprised to see Wenglewski bumped up a weight class. Union often gets lost in the scuffle behind Stillwater, Broken Arrow and Sand Springs this season, but the Redskins, after losing a bunch of wrestlers after last year, are proving that they can be perennial contenders.

Wrestlers to watch

- Daton Fix (Sand Springs): Super sophomore should head to OKC as a No. 1 seed.

- Nic Roller (Bixby): As a sophomore, Roller didn't place at 285 last season at the state tournament. Would be shocked if he wasn't at least third at 220 this year.

- Davion Jeffries (Broken Arrow): OU signee should be on a mission after second-place finish at state last year.

- Garrett Rowe (Choctaw): Went from third in 2013 to second in 2014. Could 2015 be Rowe's year for a title?

- Que Overton (Jenks): The OU football signee had to settle for third at state last year, and he's been wrestling well this year.

Class 6A West - at Norman

Favorite: Stillwater. The Pioneers stormed their way to the 6A title last year with five individual championships. Now subtract Chandler Rogers from the mix, and you basically have the same Stillwater team this year. Andrew Nieman, Tyler Dieringer, Kaid Brock, Tristan Moran, Joe Smith and Jordan Dieringer will be quite the combo for any other team to overcome.

Darkhorse: Yukon. Boo Lewallen (138) and Tyler Stilwell (285) are solid pillars to head into the playoffs with. The Millers will need some other to emerge to even sniff coming within striking distance of Stillwater.

Watch out for... Edmond North. Losing a state champion trio (the Dixon triplets) and Derek White is a graduation hit no team can overcome. Luckily for the Huskies, they're still good in the lower weights, anchored by Paxton Rosen (113).

Wrestlers to watch

- Boo Lewallen (Yukon): Going for his third straight title after losing to Stillwater's Joe Smith in the 2012 finals.

- Dalton Duffield (Westmoore): A junior now, Duffield finished third last year, a year after winning a title.

- Hayden Hansen (Norman North): Had to settle for third at 145 last year. Massively disappointing for a guy who had only lost twice all year.

- Zach Moore (Putnam City): Moore had the 138 sewn up last year until he injury defaulted in the championship match against Stillwater's Moran. That was one of the more bizarre happenings in OKC last year.

Class 5A East - at Tahlequah

Favorite: Collinsville. Cardinals still managed to win their fifth straight dual state title, this time without Gary Wayne Harding or Will Steltzlen. Impressive. Now comes the regional round, where Collinsville has racked the last couple of years. Expect a stiffer challenge this year.

Darkhorse: Coweta. Tigers nearly upended Collinsville at dual state, and they get another shot this weekend. Coweta -- and the rest of the 5A East field last year was blown out by Collinsville in the regional -- but Coweta may end up being the better tournament team this weekend.

Watch out for... doesn't matter. It's Collinsville, Coweta and everyone else in Tahlequah this weekend.

Wrestlers to watch

- Griffin Qualls (Coweta): What does he have in store this year after launching his head gear into the stands after claiming a state title last season?

- Nate Keim (Collinsville): His regional and state final battles with Deer Creeks's Tanner Cole were superb. 

- Reese Davis (Tahlequah): It's now or never for a wrestle who has had the talent to win a state title, yet has never accomplished the feat.

- Aaron O'Brien (Edison): McAlester's Donald Cannon stood in his way of a state crown last year. It could be O'Brien's year with Cannon now graduated.

Class 5A West - at Duncan

Favorite: Lawton Mac. The Highlanders qualified a ton of wrestlers at last year's state tournament, yet only one (Cole Powers) won a title. Seven of those qualifiers graduated, so Mac will have to lean heavily on Colton Jump.

Darkhorse: Altus. Having Gage Gomez (106), Montorie Bridges (120) and Cameron Loving (160) always gives Altus a chance.

Watch out for... Shawnee. Walker Smith may be Shawnee's best bet for a title at 195. The Wolves are always solid and always a tough out.

Wrestlers to watch

- Tanner Cole (Deer Creek): Looking for his second title in as many years.

- Hunter Kelly (Duncan): He didn't place at state last year, but expect that to change this year.

- Michael Lopez (Piedmont): Repeat Kelly's story here.

- Blaise Gorges (Durant): Gorges injury defaulted in the regional finals last year and ended up not placing at state last year. If healthy, he could challenge for a title.

Class 4A East - at Catoosa

Favorite: Cascia Hall. Good things happen when Tanner Skidgel and Scout Skidgel are on your side come regional time. What's a shame is Cascia Hall and Vinita didn't have a one-on-one dual this season.

Darkhorse (read: co-favorite): Vinita. Dylan Enyart and Colston Couch will attempt to lead the Hornets to a regional crown. This regional title may be the most up for grabs out there.

Watch out for... Fort Gibson. The Tigers don't have a lot of great wrestlers, but they have a bunch of scrappy wrestlers that could rack up points in the consolation bracket.

Wrestlers to watch

- Tanner Skidgel (Cascia Hall): Won a state title at 106 as a freshman. How many more championships can he nail down?

- Brock Martin (Oologah): He is Oologah's wrestling team, and he finished fourth as a freshman at 170 last year. Like his chances to get third or higher this year.

- Wyatt Sheets (Stilwell): He's quietly going about his business as one of the best wrestlers in the state. Yet no one every talks about him. 

- Alex Kauffman (Vinita): Finished fourth as a freshman last year. How far has he come in a year's time?

Class 4A West - at Clinton

Favorite: Tuttle. Six straight state championships. Six straight dual state titles, including last week's dismantling of the 4A field. Good enough for me.

Darkhorse: Cushing. Hard to believe that Cushing only had one state champ - Gage Stallworth - out of 10 qualifiers last year. 

Watch out for... Wagoner. A lot like Fort Gibson: no elite wrestlers, but a bunch of guys that will avoid elimination and keep on advancing far into a tournament.

Wrestlers to watch

- Tanner Litterell (Tuttle): Up two weight classes from last year, Litterell (now at 126) looks for his second title in as many years.

- Jake Castlebury (Elgin): He'd probably like to have last year's state finals against Glenpool's Justin McGinnes to do over. (It was a 4-0 decision for McGinnes.)

- Josh Copeland (Harrah): Could he win a title if Cascia Hall's Tanner Skidgel wasn't in the way? We may find out.

- Jose Cuevas (Weatherford): Lost in epic fashion to Tuttle Dustin Mason in the state finals last year. It was certainly one to stick around for.

Class 3A East - at Sperry

Favorite: Perry. Suggestion for the Maroons: Qualify as many as possible for the state tournament, because Plainview will be a stiff challenge come Oklahoma City time.

Darkhorse: Heritage Hall. Pleasant surprise for wrestling fans in the Tulsa area. Chargers offer up good wrestling, so some HH-Perry showdowns could be fun.

Watch out for... Blackwell. Always a team to keep an eye on.

Wrestlers to watch

- Kaden Gfeller (Heritage Hall): Gfeller and Sand Springs' Daton Fix and Stilwell's Wyatt Sheets will carry the torch of top wrestlers into next season.

- Cale Betchan (Perry): Like Cushing, it's hard to believe that Perry only had one champion last year.

- Sam Schuermann (Blackwell): Looks to defend his title that he claimed at 170 last year.

- Bryson McGowan (Hulbert): A disheartening finish against Davis' Braden Ruth in the finals last year. McGowan is as motivated as ever to win a title.

Class 3A West - at Marlow

Favorite: Plainview. The Indians probably left last year's state tournament with plenty of disappointment. Zach Atencio was the only Plainview wrestler to leave with a title, and he was the only one to wrestle for a championship. Eight Plainview wrestlers qualified for the state tournament and only three placed. With six of those eight back, Plainview has turned that disappointment into momentum this season.

Darkhorse: Chandler. Lost in the yearly tradition of Perry hoisting up hardward at state tournaments is the fact that Chandler is annually pretty good. The Lions had seven qualify for the state tournament last year, and Tanner Wall (138) won a title as a sophomore. If I had to guess, I'd say Chandler wins a couple of titles this year, including Heath Gray possibly ending his high school career atop the podium.

Watch out for... Kingfisher. Same as Chandler; Kingfisher has been a good team that gets overlooked. Brady Smith was second last year, and Kingfisher had three others get third, so don't be surprised when Maddy Roney is wrestling for a title on Feb. 28.

Wrestlers to watch

- Heath Gray (Chandler): Blackwell's Sam Schuermann has been a thorn in his side these last couple of years. A rematch could be in the works in OKC.

- Brady Smith (Kingfisher): Can he turn last year's silver into gold this season?

- Connor Webb (Davis): Nearly knocked off last year's 182 champion (Pawnee's Marlon Houston Jr.) in the semifinals. This season, Houston won't be there to stand in the way.

- Zach Atencio (Plainview): Went from not placing as a freshman to winning a title as a sophomore. Could his second straight title be in the works?