Western Courier

Issue date: 2/13/08 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Adam Sacasa Redshirt freshman guard James Washington scored six points off of the bench in the Jan. 19 loss at Oral Roberts.

First-place Oral Roberts will be soaring into town Thursday evening when the Golden Eagles take on the Western Illinois men's basketball team at Western Hall.

Thursday's match-up will mark the second meeting of the season between the two clubs, with Oral Roberts handing Western a double-digit loss earlier in the season in Tulsa, Okla.

The Golden Eagles (17-5, 12-0 Summit League) are flying high this year, maintaining a flawless record in conference play and riding a season-high 10-game winning streak.

Five of Oral Roberts' last six wins have come via blowouts, outscoring their opponents by 11 or more points while holding their opposition to less than 63 points. Their dominating conference play is beginning to attract much attention to the college basketball world with several sports programs selecting the Golden Eagles to cause misfits and possible upsets to higher-seeded programs come March.

The Leathernecks (11-13, 6-7 Summit) are coming off a road loss against South Dakota State, a game that dropped them into sixth place in the Summit League standings.

Despite the loss and a current two-game losing streak, a victory against Oral Roberts could potentially position them into fourth place if Oakland and IPFW lose in their upcoming games.

Western coach Derek Thomas is aware of those possibilities and is looking forward to capitalizing on the opportunity.

"Oral Roberts is a great team but we seem to play them well at times when we match-up," Thomas said. "They are a good defensive squad and they have talent at all positions. It's imperative that we stay aggressive and play our style of basketball."

The 'Necks have had success in the past in formulating effective strategies in slowing down talented Oral Roberts' teams of old. Western fell to the first-place Oral Roberts team of last year by only seven points after a valiant come-from-behind effort from the 'Necks at Western Hall.

Oral Robert coach Scott Sutton is aware of that performance and knows his team cannot overlook Western in anticipation of their marquee match-up against second-place IUPUI Saturday.

"Western has been a team we struggled with in the past," Sutton said. "Up until last year, we lost meetings up there two years in a row, and even last year we struggled to win. I reminded my players after our last victory that they better not overlook Western because they beat us before, and if we overlook them, they'll beat us again."

Western's 7 p.m. match-up against Oral Roberts Thursday evening will mark the beginning of the 'Necks' final two home games that will conclude on Saturday against Centenary.

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