ROCHESTER, Mich., Jan. 16 - Oakland University showed why its team was picked to win The Summit League championship Saturday night as the Grizzlies used a combination of size inside and guard play on the perimeter in overpowering Southern Utah 99-53.

            Oakland picked up its 14^th straight conference win - two shy of the league record - in improving to 13-7 overall and 7-0 in Summit League play, while SUU dipped to 5-13, 1-6 in conference games.

            Oakland put the Thunderbirds in a huge hole early and never looked back.

            After all-conference guard Jonathan Jones missed a 3-pointer on the first shot of the game the Grizzlies hit their next seven shots in running out to an early 20-4 lead. The Grizzlies ran off 13 points before Davis Baker got the Thunderbirds on the scoreboard with a mid-range jumper at the 16:07 mark of the first half, then scored five more before Matt Hodgson scored on a jumper in the lane.

            Oakland's defensive effort through the first four minutes was equally impressive. The Grizzlies forced five turnovers, blocked a shot and did not allow the Thunderbirds an offensive rebound in taking the 20-4 lead.

            "Oakland came out with an outstanding effort from the beginning and we didn't ever have a response," SUU Coach Roger Reid said. "Give them a lot of credit. They moved the ball well, got the ball where it needed to be and got good shots early. They also did a great job on the defensive end, disrupting our offense. Once we got down we lost our focus and weren't able to bounce back.

            "They're talented and they're deep," Reid added. "We did a pretty good job on [Keith] Benson and [Jonathan] Jones but they had a lot of other players step up."

            SUU held Benson to 12 points and Jones to 10 but St. Johns transfer Larry Wright scored 18 points, his second-best total of the season, and Derrick Nelson scored 13.

            SUU was led by Davis Baker but Oakland limited Baker, the Summit League's leading scorer going into the game, to 10 points.

            Oakland out-rebounded the Thunderbirds 34-to-24 and wound up hitting 52.3 percent of its shots (34-of-65), becoming just the third team this season to hit 50 percent or better against SUU this season. SUU hit 48.6 percent of its shots but attempted just 37, as Oakland put up 28 more shots than the Thunderbirds.