Grizzlies defeat the Thunderbirds in men’s and women’s basketball on Saturday

The Oakland University basketball teams both came away with convincing victories over Southern Utah Saturday at the O’Rena. The women’s team won 78-45, while the men’s team topped the Thunderbirds 99-53.

In the early game, sophomore guard Sharise Calhoun scored a career-high 18 points for the Lady Grizzlies, as the team improved to 4-2 in Summit League play.

Also scoring in double figures was freshman Bethany Watterworth with 15 points and six rebounds, and senior Hanna Reising with 13 points and six boards.

“I am pleased with how everybody played tonight, especially those who came off the bench. We never had a lull and it didn’t matter who we put in,” head coach Beckie Francis said.

In the men’s game, the Grizzlies jumped out to 13-0 lead, and were up by 31 by halftime.

All eleven OU players figured into the scoring, with junior guard Larry Wright leading the way. Wright had 18 points and had three steals in a game in which Oakland played tenacious defensively, causing 26 turnovers by Southern Utah.

Center Keith Benson became the 28th player in school history to surpass 1,000 career points when he converted a free throw attempt in the opening minutes. He finished with 12 points and seven rebounds.

The highlight of the evening came midway through the second half when sophomore Drew Maynard buried an alley-oop pass from Johnathon Jones, bringing the crowd of 3,125 to its feet on the dunk.

The OU men’s team is riding a seven-game winning streak into a season-long four-game road trip that will begin Thursday.