SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — With a second-consecutive Summit League championship, it’s safe to declare Oakland University the best team the conference has ever seen.

The numbers are superlative. The Golden Grizzlies’ 90-76 victory over long-time rival Oral Roberts in Tuesday night’s conference title game caps off a stretch in which the team won 49 of 52 games against Summit League opponents.

The win grants Oakland (25-9) a coveted automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament later this month, marking the third trip to March Madness in the program’s young Division I history.

“I think Oral Roberts gave us a great shot,” Grizzlies coach Greg Kampe said of Tuesday’s game. “They came at us in the first half after we got a double-digit lead and they tied it. And then in the second half they came back and took the lead … Tonight was a war and we knew it’d be a war. We were good when we had to be.”

Oakland’s offensive dominance through this week’s conference tournament was a sight to be seen, as the team held a 20-point lead in each game and blitzed opposing defenses to the tune of 282 points en route to a repeat.

“Every team is different,” Kampe said. “Four of our top seven players from last year aren’t here. I think this team is more of an offensive juggernaut than last year when we made our living on defending and rebounding.”

A rare occurrence during the second halves of conference games this season, Oakland briefly trailed after the Golden Eagles made a run, only to recover within minutes and pull away for good.

“I think we all felt the pressure when they started to make their run,” senior Keith Benson said. “I just knew we had to stay strong and keep playing our game to withstand their run and make one of our own.”

Benson finished as the game’s leading scorer with 28 points, and turned in a performance not unlike one of his teammates in last season’s finals.

“Last year I think Derick Nelson had a really big role in the championship game (scoring 36 points), and he took us to another level. I’ve always had that in the back of my mind, so I just tried to do that again this year for my team,” Benson said.

After falling behind 57-56, the Grizzlies promptly went on a 26-7 run to secure the victory.

To compliment Benson’s scoring output, junior Reggie Hamilton turned in his third 20-point performance of the tournament by recording 26 points. A 3-pointer with 7:40 remaining served as the final dagger in Oral Roberts’ hopes for a comeback. Hamilton delivered his patented salute to the crowd when his shot fell to put Oakland up by 17.

“We wouldn’t be sitting here if Reggie hadn’t shown up on our campus,” Kampe said. “Reggie is the hardest-working, wants-to-win kid. He (came) to a program that’s used to winning and he conformed to us and now he’s our leader. All of those great seniors we have, he’s still the leader and he meant the world to our team.”

Benson and Hamilton received All-Tournament honors for their performances over the course of the week, with the Grizzlies’ center earning the Most Valuable Player award.

“I don’t want to sit here and say Keith Benson is the greatest player to ever play in the Summit League because that wouldn’t be fair to (some past players),” Kampe said. “But I’m going to say this: He’s the most dominant player that ever played in this league and the numbers prove that with what we’ve done.”

Senior Will Hudson was as steady as ever by turning in a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Sophomore Drew Valentine also reached double-digits in scoring, and played a significant defensive role in shutting down ORU’s Dominique Morrison, a First Team All-Conference player.

Smug and satisfied in his decision to attend Oakland, Valentine said he felt lucky to have been a part of two championship teams so early in his career.

“I’ve seen all of the hard work the older guys have put in and all of their leadership, so I’m just going to try and keep repeating that in the coming years,” Valentine said.

Knowing now that the coda of their season will be a trip to the NCAA Tournament, the Grizzlies will wait with qualifying teams across the country to find out where they fit in to the field of 68.

“I think we have a chance to go a lot farther (in the NCAA Tournament) than we did last year,” Benson said.