2008 Woodie Awards
Jags hold on to win over ORU
Ryan Palancer
Issue date: 2/20/08 Section: Sports
The IUPUI men's basketball team defeated Oral Roberts 69-66 in front of a rowdy crowd on Saturday night, handing the Golden Eagles their first Summit League loss. The win atoned for a 64-63 loss at ORU on Jan. 11.
"What a great college basketball game," IUPUI coach Ron Hunter said. "I thought that our students here were absolutely fantastic. These are the two best teams in the league. They made plays when they had to. It came down to a last second shot at their place and at our place. I think that it's going to be fun in the conference tournament. You have the two best teams and the team that has the ball last is probably going to win."
Junior George Hill and senior Austin Montgomery led the way for the Jaguars down the stretch. The duo combined for 25 of their 34 points in the second half.
Hill, who was playing with an ankle injury that occurred Thursday against Centenary, scored eight of those points in the final 2:07 to guide IUPUI to the victory.
"We didn't play a healthy George Hill tonight," Hunter said. "Thursday night he got hurt. I think that most guys in the country would not have played tonight, with his ankle. He really stepped it up and some other guys had to do some things. He had to make the plays that he made at the end."
The Jaguars (21-5, 13-2 Summit) used an early hot shooting touch to claim a 14-5 lead eight minutes into the game. With 4:27 remaining in the first half, Billy Pettiford's steal and dunk erupted the crowd and gave IUPUI a 29-16 lead, its largest of the game. The Jaguars rode the momentum to a 32-23 lead at halftime.
Moses Ehambe hit a pair of 3-pointers as Oral Roberts (18-6, 13-1 Summit) was able to close to within six-37-31-just over three minutes into the second half.
With 6:35 remaining in the game, Ehambe hit another 3-pointer from the left baseline to tie the game at 50. Montgomery responded by knocking down three free throws after being fouled behind the arc.
With 2:07 remaining, it was Hill's time to take over. He completed a three-point-play to give the Jaguars a 61-59 lead. After ORU tied the game, Hill knocked down two more free throws to give IUPUI a 63-61 lead with 1:40 remaining.
"I think that my team did pretty good," Hill said. "We carried each other. When it was time to make the plays, that's when we did it."
Following another Hill lay up, ORU's Robert Jarvis knocked down a 3-pointer from the right wing to give the Golden Eagles a 66-65 lead with just 44 seconds remaining.
With 26 seconds remaining, Montgomery passed up a 3-pointer to drive to the basket. The decision paid off, as Montgomery hit a lay up, was fouled and completed the three-point-play. Hill knocked down another free throw and the Jaguars escaped with the nail-biting victory.
The Jaguars have now won eight straight games and hope to carry the momentum while embarking on the stretch run of their season. IUPUI begins this task on Thursday, by traveling to Oakland (13-12, 8-6 Summit), the first of three road games in a row.
"What a great college basketball game," IUPUI coach Ron Hunter said. "I thought that our students here were absolutely fantastic. These are the two best teams in the league. They made plays when they had to. It came down to a last second shot at their place and at our place. I think that it's going to be fun in the conference tournament. You have the two best teams and the team that has the ball last is probably going to win."
Junior George Hill and senior Austin Montgomery led the way for the Jaguars down the stretch. The duo combined for 25 of their 34 points in the second half.
Hill, who was playing with an ankle injury that occurred Thursday against Centenary, scored eight of those points in the final 2:07 to guide IUPUI to the victory.
"We didn't play a healthy George Hill tonight," Hunter said. "Thursday night he got hurt. I think that most guys in the country would not have played tonight, with his ankle. He really stepped it up and some other guys had to do some things. He had to make the plays that he made at the end."
The Jaguars (21-5, 13-2 Summit) used an early hot shooting touch to claim a 14-5 lead eight minutes into the game. With 4:27 remaining in the first half, Billy Pettiford's steal and dunk erupted the crowd and gave IUPUI a 29-16 lead, its largest of the game. The Jaguars rode the momentum to a 32-23 lead at halftime.
Moses Ehambe hit a pair of 3-pointers as Oral Roberts (18-6, 13-1 Summit) was able to close to within six-37-31-just over three minutes into the second half.
With 6:35 remaining in the game, Ehambe hit another 3-pointer from the left baseline to tie the game at 50. Montgomery responded by knocking down three free throws after being fouled behind the arc.
With 2:07 remaining, it was Hill's time to take over. He completed a three-point-play to give the Jaguars a 61-59 lead. After ORU tied the game, Hill knocked down two more free throws to give IUPUI a 63-61 lead with 1:40 remaining.
"I think that my team did pretty good," Hill said. "We carried each other. When it was time to make the plays, that's when we did it."
Following another Hill lay up, ORU's Robert Jarvis knocked down a 3-pointer from the right wing to give the Golden Eagles a 66-65 lead with just 44 seconds remaining.
With 26 seconds remaining, Montgomery passed up a 3-pointer to drive to the basket. The decision paid off, as Montgomery hit a lay up, was fouled and completed the three-point-play. Hill knocked down another free throw and the Jaguars escaped with the nail-biting victory.
The Jaguars have now won eight straight games and hope to carry the momentum while embarking on the stretch run of their season. IUPUI begins this task on Thursday, by traveling to Oakland (13-12, 8-6 Summit), the first of three road games in a row.
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