It was a game of two halves as the Oakland University women’s basketball team suffered their worst home loss of the season, dropping 61-51 against the South Dakota State Jackrabbits.

The Golden Grizzlies (10-10, 6-5 Summit League) came into Monday night’s game having won five of their last six games, all coming within the month of January. Coupled with the team’s impressive 7-2 record inside the O’rena, Oakland looked to hand the Jackrabbits only their second conference loss of the season.

Meanwhile, South Dakota State (15-7, 10-1 Summit League) came into the game holding the top spot in the Summit League conference.

Redshirt freshman guard Amy Carlton surprisingly stepped up to lead the Grizzlies’ initial charge, scoring the first five points of the game.

Oakland head coach Beckie Francis was very pleased with Carlton’s play, highlighting her will on the court.

“What freshman takes the starting spot and scores the first five points in this kind of game,” Francis said. “She is a hustle player, always getting her nose in there, she really is my replacement for Zakiya. She is my ‘Rudy’ story, she’s a walk on, and the fact that she is starting like this and producing is incredible.”

Zakiya Minifee was lost for the season after a lower leg injury in the game against IUPUI in early January. Minifee was previously the team’s leading rebounder and one of the team’s top scorers.

While Carlton helped to set the tone early, it was senior center Brittany Carnago who stole the spotlight in the first half — and rightfully so. Carnago notched her 260th block of her career early in the game, setting a new school record. The previous record had been held by Brenda McLean, and had stood since 1985.

“It’s pretty exciting,” Carnago said. “It’s quite the honor to be up there with such excellent players”

With walk-ons stepping up and records being broken, Oakland was able to ride a 7-0 run into halftime and take a 29-23 lead into the locker room. The run was capped by a buzzer beater lay up by Carnago.

While Oakland carried the momentum into halftime, the Golden Grizzlies came out flat in the second half. Out of the break the Jackrabbits reeled off a 12-2 run to retake the lead for good, attacking the Grizzlies with a barrage of three pointers. SDSU went an impressive 7-12 from behind the arc in the second half, while Oakland matched with a dreadful 0-5 from the same distance.

“I thought what really hurt us was our defense,” Watterworth said. “And we went cold there for a little while, and we didn’t hit a shot which hurt us.”

Finally, freshman forward Shelby Herrington hit a jumper to stop the bleeding — but it was too little too late. SDSU took control of the game, shooting 46.7 percent in the second stanza, to Oakland’s 28 percent.

Oakland gave up a season high 12 three-pointers to the Jackrabbits, who relied on shots from the outside to seal the victory.

Watterworth led the Grizzlies’ attack with a game-high 25 points to go along with seven rebounds, which also tied for the game-high in that category.

Senior guard Sharise Calhoun was the only other Grizzly in double-figures, notching 11 points. Carnago chipped in seven.

South Dakota State sported a balanced attack with Jill Young having 15, Rachel Walters adding a career-high 12 off the bench and Ashley Eide contributing 10.

“We’ve done really well against (the top teams in the conference)” Francis said. “We have just a little bit more work to do and we’re focusing on peaking in March.”

The Grizzlies begin a two-game roadtrip with Western Illinois on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. and then IUPUI on Feb. 6.

Contact Timothy Pontzer at trpontze@oakland.edu and follow him on Twitter @timothy_pontzer

With 61 years of coaching combined, more than 770 career wins total and one grateful university, Pete Hovland and Greg Kampe were inducted into the Hollie L. Lepley Hall of Honor.

On Friday evening, select alumni, student athletes and many others met together to induct the men’s and women’s swimming head coach and men’s basketball head coach.

“Oakland as a community has provided a pretty nice way of life and environment to grow, thrive and be successful,” Hovland said. “It allows people to stay long enough to recruit some of these accolades.”

Since his arrival in 1979, Hovland has become the most successful coach in OU history with four national titles in Division II and 15 top-three finishes in 18 years.

On Jan. 14, Hovland earned his 300th career victory with wins over both Cleveland State and Xavier.

Hovland’s consistent success has allowed for OU to become not only a Summit League powerhouse with 12 championships, but also to grow into a dominant Mid-Major program with high expectations for the future.

That very success has resulted in student-athletes buying into his coaching mentality and wanting to be a part of what Hovland has built.

“If you can find a group of young people and convince them that there is something out there that is bigger and better, and that is worthwhile, it’s very uplifting,” Hovland said. “You’ll find a lot of people that will buy into that and we’ve been lucky over the years to find that.”

“We are always big on not just being a team but being a family,” senior swimmer Scott Yarbrough said. “Hovland is always trying to bring everyone to their best ability instead of just worrying about wins and losses.”

According to Yarbrough, one of the great traits about Hovland is his approach to recruiting that is different than the more prominent universities.

“(Hovland) sees past the times and recruits those people who can get better,” Yarbrough said. “They may not be the fastest in their first two years here, but by the time they graduate, they’ve become a significant member of the team.”

Like Hovland, fellow Lepley Hall of Honor inductee and men’s basketball coach Greg Kampe has taken Oakland from a top Division II team to an up-and-coming Division I Mid-Major program.

With 27 seasons under his belt, the five-time Summit League Coach of the Year Kampe has led the Golden Grizzlies to consecutive Summit League championships and NCAA tournament berths.

“I didn’t do anything. Seriously,” Kampe said. “There’s no I. It’s what we’ve done here as a group of coaches and athletes. It’s always been about being together as an athletic program. If I’ve done anything right, I’ve hired good people.”

Kampe has also coached OU to a 68-18 league-record over the past five seasons, putting the Grizzlies at the No. 1 spot over the other D-1 schools in the state of Michigan.

With previous offers to coach at Central Michigan and Dayton, Kampe has a simple reason why he decided to stay at Oakland.

“Oakland is just a place on a map, with streets and buildings, but what makes Oakland special is the people,” Kampe said. “Everybody asks ‘why are you still there?’ It’s the special people from the top to the bottom.”

Along with Hovland, Kampe recruits a certain type of player in a certain type of way.

“Most coaches when they are on a visit try to impress you and treat you extra nice,” junior forward Drew Valentine said. “(Kampe) was real from the start and treated me as if I was already on the team.”

While success on the court requires great athletes, Kampe requires them to be students first, and athletes second. Because of that, the Grizzlies have the state’s highest graduation rate and are among the nation’s elite in NCAA Academic Progress Reports, which measures a school’s ability to graduate players.

“(Coach Kampe) keeps himself and the program to a high standard,” Valentine said. “He doesn’t go easy or baby anyone. That’s what has kept him successful … he preaches a well rounded athlete not only on the court but in the classroom.”

Players come and go, but Hovland and Kampe’s commitment to the university and the “we not I” philosophy has stayed the same.

“It’s been an unbelievable ride to be part of,” Kampe said. “Have we brought recognition to the university? Yeah, I think we’ve done a good job.”

Friday night live

Tailgate

Homecoming game

Car smash

Men’s basketball team fall in finale at Oral Roberts

In the finale of the Oakland and Oral Roberts conference rivalry, the Golden Eagles went out with a bang defeating OU 93-86. The win gave ORU a season sweep of the Golden Grizzlies to maintain their undefeated Summit League record.

Oakland edged Oral Roberts shooting 56 percent and 55 percent respectively, but the Grizzlies couldn’t slow down Dominique Morrison who finished with 24 points.

For the Grizzlies, senior Reggie Hamilton led all scorers with 30 points, but two costly turnovers late in the game threw the brakes on a possible Grizzlies comeback.

Midway through the second half, Oakland held a ten point lead but a controversial intentional foul call from Drew Valentine gave the Eagles back the momentum.

The Grizzlies lost their first game of the season after leading at halftime, snapping a 28 game winning streak when leading at the half.

The game probably marks the last time the two teams will meet, as ORU is leaving the Summit League for the Southland Conference next season. The Grizzlies return for a two game homestand starting on Jan. 26 against South Dakota at 7 p.m. in the O’rena.

Second half comeback gives Oakland women the victory

The Oakland University women’s basketball team garnered their third road victory of the year with a 64-60 come from behind win over the Southern Utah Thunderbirds on Monday night.

Star junior forward Bethany Watterworth led the Golden Grizzlies’ effort with 20 points. Freshman guard Amy Carlton was the only other Grizzly in double figures, posting a career high 12 points off the bench.

Both teams traded baskets in the first half, with the Thunderbirds taking a 34-26 lead into halftime. Southern Utah pushed their lead to 10 early in the second half, but left the door open for OU to storm back.

Watterworth exploded for 16 points in the second half. Behind Watterworth’s effort, Oakland outscored SUU 38-26 in the second half, fueled by a 16-1 run that put the Grizzlies in the lead for good.

The comeback was aided by a dominant effort on the boards in the second half, with Oakland out-rebounding the Thunderbirds 33-24 in the second half. Sophomore guard Victoria Lipscomb grabbed 9 rebounds for the Grizzlies.

Track and field shows how to ‘Keep up with the Joneses’

The Oakland track and field team impressed on Friday evening at the Mike Lints Alumni Open in Allendale.

For the women, Micah Jones took the top spot in the long jump and senior Lia Jones won the 5,000 meter run. This was the second consecutive week that Lia Jones had won a race.

Freshman Katelynne Hartman finished eighth in the shot put and senior Desiree Pettiford earned a top-ten finish in the 400 meter dash.

For the men, senior Dave Magnotte earned a top-five finish in the one-mile run and fellow senior Niklas Rippon also posted a top-five finish, notching his in the 60-meter run.

OU continues the season next week when they travel to Fort Wayne to take on IPFW on Saturday.

Coaches to be inducted into Hall of Honor

As part of the festivities surrounding the 2012 Homecoming Weekend, two new inductees will be added to the 25th Hollie L. Lepley Hall of Honor.

Men’s basketball head coach Greg Kampe and men’s and women’s swimming and diving head coach Pete Hovland will both be the newest members of the Hall.

Coach Kampe has overseen 20 winning seasons and three NCAA Division I tournament berths.

Coach Hovland spent the last 31 years at the helm of the men’s team, and 11 seasons at the helm of the women’s squad.

Contact senior reporter Timothy Pontzer via e-mail at trpontze@oakland.edu and follow him on Twitter @timothy_pontzer

In the first of a two part series, The Oakland Post takes a look at the other men’s basketball teams within the Summit League to catch an inside perspective about who Oakland will be facing as the second half of conference play starts to get under way. Click here to see part two

Hamilton led all scorers with a career high 41 points. Hamilton’s scoring barrage was fueled by five three pointers. The 41 marked the first time a Golden Grizzly scored at least 40 since Calvin Wooten did it against Valparaiso in 2006.

Junior Ryan Broekhoff notched the only double-double of the game for either side, giving the Crusaders (7-4) 18 points and 12 rebounds. Fellow junior Kevin Van Wijk scored 22 to lead Valparaiso who blew a 17 point lead in the second half.

Sophomore Drew Valentine chipped in 19 for the Grizzlies, and redshirt senior Laval Lucas-Perry added 12 off the bench.

The Golden Grizzlies conclude their two game road trip with a matchup against Arizona on 12/20. Oakland then returns home on 12/23 to face Western Michigan at the O’Rena.

The Oakland University men’s basketball team (6-4) couldn’t stop the offensive of the University of Michigan Wolverines (7-2) in what may have been the final matchup between the two Saturday afternoon, losing the game 90-80.

The teams won’t be competing again for a while, according to U-M basketball coach John Beilein.

“(Not playing Michigan) hurts us,” Grizzlies Head Coach Greg Kampe said. “It’s not going to kill us. Our philosophy of scheduling won’t change.”

Guard Reggie Hamilton led the game with 28 points and was perfect from the free-throw line, shooting 12 for 12.

U-M held the hot hand from the three-point line for the entire game, particularly in the second half, shooting 70 percent (19 of 27). Guard Tim Hardaway Jr. went five of nine from the arc, finishing with 21 points.

“We wanted to take the pick and roll away and (force them) to make shots,” Kampe said. “That was the game plan and well, they did it. I give them a lot of credit for stepping up and making them.”

The Grizzlies struggled early, shooting 1-8 from the three-point line in the first half.

“We missed shots because we were in a hurry and Petros didn’t touch the ball for the first eight or nine minutes of the game,” Kampe said.

After rebounding from a 14 point deficit in the first half with a 13-4 run, Travis Bader, who finished with 14 points, drained a three pointer to tie the game at 32-32 to end the first half.

Opening the the second half, Oakland shot 4-5 from the field, but turnovers and seven straight fouls opened the door for U-M.

U-M transfer Laval Lucas-Perry finished with 14 points against his former team but said the game wasn’t as emotional as he expected.

“It just felt like another team we had to beat,” Lucas-Perry said. “The ball just didn’t bounce our way.”

After having a career night against Ohio on Wednesday, Corey Petros (12 points, 8 rebounds) battled with U-M forward Jordan Morgan (nine points, eight rebounds). Forward Drew Valentine added ten points.

“I gotta work hard to get better position,” Petros said. “Its my job to command the ball when necessary.”

With two straight losses, Hamilton believes that the team is still confident and will maintain their focus for the rest of the season.

“Our heads are still high,” Hamilton said. “Our mission is winning our conference and tournament.”

Oakland is now 2-4 when playing at the Palace of Auburn Hills, with two of those wins against then No. 23 Oregon, Oakland’s first top 25 win.

The Grizzlies face off against Rochester College on Tuesday in the O’rena at 7 p.m.

The Grizzlies committed a season-high of 22 turnovers, giving Ohio the opportunity to capitalize and score 31 points off those mistakes.

“When you play the type of schedule we play … you’re going to have games that are hard to get up and ready for,” Head Coach Greg Kampe said. “Basically, we weren’t ready to play tonight.”

Travis Bader, who finished with 21 points, missed a layup with under 16 seconds left on the Grizzlies final possession to end Oakland’s chance of a tie.

Center Corey Petros set his career high with 23 points and 16 rebounds, his fourth double-double of the season, while playing for season-high 39 minutes.

“I just did what I was taught by the coaches,” Petros said. “The guards (also) did a good job of giving me the ball down low.”

Reggie Hamilton matched Petros’ total, with 23 point, seven assists, but also had seven turnovers.

“(Being double teamed) is something I have to expect from the other team,” Hamilton said. “I have to be aware of that and make adjustments.”

Drawing a foul from the three-point line with 42 seconds left, Hamilton hit three free throws to cut the Ohio lead by three, but fouled out with just 32 seconds remaining.

“I let my team down tonight,” Hamilton said. “I did some uncharacteristic things.”

The Grizzlies shot 52 percent overall (28-54) but were 7-23 from the three point line.

The Bobcats also out rebounded the Grizzlies 33 to 32.

Ohio shot 50 percent from both the field and three-point line, along with scoring 15 unanswered points during the first half.

D.J Cooper led the Bobcats with 18 points and four assists. Stevie Cooper went 3-4 from the three-point line and added 13 points.

The Bobcats scored 42 points of the bench and shot 44 percent from the three-point line (12-27).

“Its a long season and bad things are going to happen sometimes,” Kampe said. “You hope that you’re good enough to make a play to win.”

Oakland is now 1-3 all-time against Ohio, and 18-39 overall against MAC opponents.

The Grizzlies hope to rebound on Saturday against the Michigan Wolverines, who are ranked 20 in the Associated Press poll, at the Palace of Auburn Hills at 4 p.m.

Following Reggie Hamilton’s emotional and exhausting 35-point performance in Monday night’s OU victory over Tennessee, Gilbert began compiling a list of the top individual Grizzlies performances he’s witnessed in major games since the O’rena opened:

1. Calvin Wooten’s 40 points to help OU beat arch-rival Valparaiso for the first time Jan. 26, 2006. Attendance was only 2,800 but the atmosphere was electric. Ask Jean Ann Miller. She was there.

2. Jason Rozycki scored 32 points to lead OU past a discombobulated Michigan team Nov. 1,  2000. Rozycki canned six three-pointers and 12 of 13 free throws. Gilbert says he still has a commemorative T-shirt from that game. It’s a bit discolored now, but a treasure.

3. Hamilton’s 35 Monday night. Hamilton hit a dagger three-pointer with under 8 minutes to play after Tennessee had whacked OU’s lead to three.  Then Reggie made 10 clutch free throws in a row in the closing minutes as the crowd of 3,700 stood as one.

4. Erik Kangas sank eight three-pointers on 11 shots and scored 33 points Jan. 22, 2009, against Summit League rival IUPUI. This was the middle game of a three-game stretch in which a silky-smooth Kangas erupted for 99 points.

5. Kito Benson netted 24 points, 18 rebounds, and seven blocked shots in thoroughly dominating Central Arkansas Nov. 28, 2009.

Garry adds that Mike Helms scored 45 points in the O’rena in an overtime victory against Western Michigan in December 2001, but alas, he did not attend the game.

What are your best O’rena memories since OU went Division I? Johnathon Jones? Rawle Marshall? Brad Buddenborg? Derick Nelson? Dan Champagne? Mychal Covington?

Participate in the conversation by leaving a comment below or email us your nostalgic moments at managing@oaklandpostonline.com