Mid-Continent Conference Tournament Semifinal Notes
TULSA, Okla. – The championship matchup is set at the Mid-Continent Tournament, and it may look a little familiar in more ways than one. The top two seeds, Oral Roberts and Oakland, will battle it out for the conference’s automatic bid. The two met in this game two years ago, with the Grizzlies coming out on top. In the afternoon, meanwhile, the same two schools will battle it out for the women’s title.
Semifinals Honor Roll
Caleb Green, Oral Roberts: 25 points
Shawn King, Oral Roberts: 14 points on 7-9 shooting, 8 rebounds
Ken Tutt, Oral Roberts: 11 points, 5 assists
David Barlow, IUPUI: 16 points, 6 rebounds
Derick Nelson, Oakland: 23 points on 9-13 shooting, 10 rebounds
Erik Kangas, Oakland: 19 points
Quinton Day, UMKC: 17 points, 7 assists
Dee Ayuba, UMKC: 16 points, 7 rebounds
Golden Eagles Defense Comes From Sense of Urgency
Oral Roberts rolled into the title game with their 21-point win over IUPUI, led by their defense. They held the Jaguars to 29 percent shooting as they missed their first 11 shots, and also forced 14 turnovers and dominated the boards by a 42-30 margin.
Indeed, their defense is the main reason they haven’t just held on to leads late in the game at the tournament, but have put teams away. Head coach Scott Sutton thinks their star seniors have something to do with that.
“I think our guys have a sense of urgency,” said Sutton. “I think Caleb and Ken understand this is their last go-round. We can’t allow a team, if you get them down, to come back.”
They did much the same thing with Centenary on Saturday, holding the Gents to 28 percent in the second half to blow open a six-point game at the half. In turn, they shot over 65 percent from the field in that frame.
There is still more work to do with tomorrow’s championship game. Sutton sees this team drawing from the experience of last year, and for seniors Green and Tutt, experience before then as well.
“I think our guys have done a great job of understanding what we’re playing for,” said Sutton. “For Caleb and Ken, this is it. Last year, we were able to go, and I think those guys realize how special that opportunity is, and they want to get back.”
Jaguars’ Future is Bright
While their opposite number has two seniors that mean the world to them, IUPUI has a lot of youth that suggests this season just isn’t their time. Although starters David Barlow and Angelo Smith depart along with part-time starter Matt Burks, there are some riches among the Jaguars’ underclassmen.
Most notably, sophomore George Hill will redshirt this season due to an injury he suffered earlier in the year. Head coach Ron Hunter said Hill could have played in the tournament, but the decision had been made to hold him out for a redshirt. Hill was a first-team All-Mid-Continent selection last year. Three more starters, including one of the league’s top newcomers in Gary Patterson and second-team All-Mid-Continent selection Austin Montgomery, will also return.
Hunter thinks Patterson, who will need off-season surgery on his injured thumb that has bothered him even during games, and Montgomery also benefited from holding Hill out.
“I don’t know if they progress the way they progressed if we play (Hill),” said Hunter, who went on to note his optimism. “It’s hard for me to be disappointed because our future is extremely bright.”
Even with the injury to Hill, the Jaguars put forth a 15-15 season and finished fourth. With Oral Roberts losing their dynamic duo and Valparaiso leaving, the Jaguars figure to have a good chance to contend for the title next year with their holdovers.
Grizzlies Compete
Oakland won Monday’s game in large part because they kept competing. They trailed from the beginning of the game until about eight and a half minutes, ultimately taking their first lead with a run of eight unanswered points.
But the Kangaroos came right back with seven unanswered points of their own, and after the score was tied at 64, UMKC would go up by two each time before the Grizzlies would tie it. That pattern repeated until the game was tied at 74, when the Kangaroos would take the lead on two Dane Brumagin free throws and the Grizzlies would respond with the next seven, starting with Erik Kangas’ three-pointer with 1:17 left.
“I think you saw what’s made us a team all year,” said Oakland head coach Greg Kampe. “I think we compete, and I think we have so many different people who can make plays for us.”
Indeed, the Grizzlies had five players who scored in double figures and had a 38-26 rebounding edge. They also had a 42-24 edge in points in the paint. Derick Nelson (10 rebounds) and wide-bodied post player Shawn Hopes (13 points, 6 rebounds) helped lead the way inside, but they also got help all over from unsung hero Jonathon Jones. While the freshman guard had 10 points on just 2-7 shooting, he had five rebounds and three assists. Kampe doesn’t look there for his value, however.
“If Jonathan Jones hadn’t come to Oakland, we would have been in the 2-7 game on Saturday night, but we would have been wearing the dark uniform,” Kampe said. “That’s how much he’s meant to our team.”
Now the Grizzlies will get to compete again, this time for a championship. They knocked off Oral Roberts in the title game two years ago, and Kampe thinks his team is better now, but admits the Golden Eagles are also better. It all adds up to him having a high expectation for the game.
“I’m going to be disappointed if this game doesn’t come down to the last two minutes tomorrow night.”
Don’t Blame Dee
It would be easy for someone to focus on Dee Ayuba’s crucial late turnover when he took an inbound pass and then threw it to Quinton Day for a backcourt violation. But like any other game, one play didn’t make the difference, and although it’s a cliché, it really is true that the Kangaroos wouldn’t have been where they were without him.
Ayuba had a huge 31-point, nine-rebound night on Sunday to lift the Kangaroos into the semifinal. He showed his terrific touch from within 10 feet of the hoop, and at times did that on Monday although he was 6-17 from the field in the loss.
It was a tough conclusion to a season where it wasn’t a given he would even play. He tore his ACL in August, and around the start of the season the staff was 50-50 on whether he would be able to play in time for it to be practical to play him, or if redshirting him would be more practical. Head coach Rich Zvosec alluded to that possibility after the game when reflecting on the season.
“It would have been much more enjoyable as a coach if we would have had a healthy Dee Ayuba for the full year,” Zvosec said. “I think he showed down the stretch that he had the capabilities of being a first-team all-league player. The fact that he came back from surgery is a real credit to him and his work ethic.”
The Kangaroos finished below projections in the regular season, as many picked them in the top three of the conference and they finished sixth. They certainly had the tools to surprise everyone and run to the title game, and they almost did that behind Ayuba and classmate Day, who took over at one stretch in the second half right after Ayuba picked up his third foul. In recent years, they have had success in the regular season and an early exit from the tournament, but this year it was the opposite. With the players that are returning next year, they might get the right combination of regular season and tournament success in due time.
“As I say goodbye to Quinton and Dee and Blake (Crawford), I’m encourage by what we have coming back,” Zvosec said.
