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IUPUI and Oakland collide for Summit League title

Tue 9th, March 2010

Sioux Falls, SD (Sports Network) - The IUPUI Jaguars and the Oakland Golden Grizzlies will battle tonight in the championship game of the Summit League Tournament. The prize for the winner is an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

IUPUI, the tournament's second seed, beat seventh-seeded Western Illinois in the quarterfinal round and third-seeded Oral Roberts by a 69-65 final in yesterday's semifinals. The Jaguars are now riding a six-game win streak, and their only previous league title came back in 2003. They have lost in the championship game twice since capturing the crown.

Top-seeded Oakland knocked off eighth-seeded UMKC on Saturday before besting fifth-seeded IPFW, 71-58, yesterday. The Golden Grizzlies won their only conference crown in 2005, and they have also lost two championship games since tasting victory. Last season, they dropped a heart-breaking 66-64 decision to North Dakota State in the final. Oakland is riding a 10-game win streak, even more impressive than IUPUI's current run.

IUPUI and Oakland split a pair of meetings during the regular season, and the Golden Grizzlies own a 19-14 advantage in the all-time series.

There is a tremendous trio of players on the IUPUI roster, and Robert Glenn leads the group with 19.6 ppg behind 58.9 percent shooting from the floor. In addition to his scoring ability, Glenn leads the team with 6.4 rpg and 45 blocks. Alex Young checks in with 18.4 ppg, and Leroy Nobles provides 13.3 ppg on the strength of his 43.6 percent shooting from three-point range. The Jaguars are scoring 75.0 ppg while allowing 67.0 ppg to opponents. In the four-point win over Oral Roberts yesterday, Glenn tallied 18 points, Nobles scored 17 and Young added 16, as all three players performed well under pressure. IUPUI connected on 56.3 percent of its field goal attempts, the most obvious key to victory.

There are four double-digit scorers in the fold for Oakland, but center Keith Benson is clearly the best player on the roster. Benson is scoring 17.3 ppg on 54 percent shooting from the floor, and he is ripping down 10.3 rpg to go along with a block total of 110. Johnathon Jones provides 12.7 ppg for the Golden Grizzlies, and he has handed out a stellar total of 212 assists to complement his 60 steals. Derrick Nelson (11.7 ppg) and Larry Wright (11.0 ppg) round out the group for Oakland, which is posting 76.8 ppg while holding foes to 71.2 ppg. Blake Cushingberry came through with a huge performance for the Golden Grizzlies against IPFW, as the starting guard finished with 23 points. Benson posted 17 points, 17 rebounds and six blocks in that tilt, and Oakland held the Mastodons to 37.5 percent shooting from the floor.