TULSA, Okla. - Despite a sluggish, bruising first half, the Jaguars continued its opening round dominance in the Mid-Continent Conference Tournament by defeating defending champs, Oakland University, 69-63 at John Q. Hammons Arena in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
"I didn't think we played the best basketball game, but we know how to win in postseason play," said head coach Ron Hunter. "After the two losses that we had, we had a little rust after that. In the second half, we got it going."
Sophomore guard George Hill (Indianapolis, Ind./Broad Ripple) paced the Jags with a quiet 20 points, despite second half foul trouble that force him to the bench early in the period. Hill's night was punctuated by 12-for-15 shooting from the free throw line.
Junior Matt Burks (Dubuque, Iowa/Wahlert) proved the difference-maker on both ends of the court, pouring in 14 points on 4-of-7 from three-point range. But it was his defense on the conference Newcomer of the Year, Calvin Wooten, who was held to just one point for the entire game. Wooten came into the tourney averaging 19.9 ppg.
"Coach Hunter told me all day in practice to limit (Wooten's) touches," Burks said. "That's what I did. I wouldn't let him touch the ball."
The Jags got off to a slow start, falling behind early to the Golden Grizzlies, 0-4. IUPUI took the lead for good on a Brandon Cole (Indianapolis, Ind./Ben Davis) three-pointer at 7:27 of the first half, putting the Jags up 10-8. Cole finished the game with 10 points. Despite not showing up in the stats, sophomore center Bill Van Senus (Valparaiso, Ind./Valparaiso) proved to be the catalyst for the Jaguars, disrupting the early Oakland rhythm, allowing IUPUI to establish itself.
"Being a seven footer out there, I was really happy (with Van Senus). His minutes were really key out there," Hunter said of his big man. "We were actually going to start him in place of Angelo Smith (due to injury). If this wasn't postseason play, I wouldn't be playing Angelo."
Junior David Barlow (Indianapolis, Ind./Pike) also finished with double-figure scoring, adding 12 points on 5-for-8 shooting from the field.
IUPUI pushed its lead to 10 points at 24-14 with 4:13 remaining in the opening half, but Oakland did as it always does - play scrappy defense and make timely baskets to close the gap to 24-20 at the half.
Rick Billings led the balanced Oakland attack with 15 points in a losing effort. Shawn Hopes and Brandon Cassise added 14 apiece for the Golden Grizzlies.
The Jags slowed down the pace in the second half, pushing the lead back to double-digits at 57-45 with 2:37 remaining in the game. Timely Cassise threes would threaten the Jags' lead, but Oakland never got closer than a six point margin.
"Oakland played very well," Hunter said. "One of the better games they've played all year. (Shawn) Hopes is a big kid and and he causes a lot of problems. We've never had to beat defending champs in the first round. It's a tough way to go."
IUPUI's next game is on Monday evening at 9:30 p.m. EST in the Mid-Con Championship semifinal game. Their opponent will be determined on Sunday evening when UMKC (#3) takes on Chicago State (#6) at 9:30 p.m. EST. The Jags next game can be heard on ESPN 950 AM with Greg Rakestraw calling the action. It can also be heard on the Web at www.espn950.com or www.indianasportsradio.com.
It can also be seen in the Indianapolis area on Comcast, channel 62. A viewing party is planned to be hosted at Champions at the downtown Marriott at 9:00 p.m.
"This is going to be a fun tournament and we look forward to Monday night," Hunter added.
