Oakland men & women take an early exit in Summit tourneys

Bethany Watterworth had 15 points and Victoria Lipscomb added 14 for the #6 Oakland Golden Grizzlies in a 72-59 loss to the #3 UMKC Kangaroos in the quarterfinals of the Summit League Women's Tournament at the Sioux Falls Arena in South Dakota. Watterworth went over 1,500 points to close out her junior season.

Malika Glover added 10 points off the bench as Oakland chopped away at a deficit that reached 23 in the second half. The Golden Grizzlies shot only 35% from the field and had three players finish in double-digits. The Oakland women finished the season 11-17.

Later on, well after the sun had set, the #6 Southern Utah Thunderbirds came from 11 down in the final 3 minutes to defeat #3 Oakland, 84-82, in the quarterfinals of the Summit League Men's Tournament. Reggie Hamilton led all scorers with 31 points.

It looked like the Golden Grizzlies were going to advance to their sixth straight semifinal round up 11 points with 3:13 remaining in the game. But then the improbable happened as Hamilton, a 90 percent free-throw shooter on the season, missed three consecutive free throws and SUU's Damon Heuir knocked down a 3-pointer to tie the game at 82.

Then the T-Birds' Jackson Stevenett scored his 26th point with 2.4 seconds left in the game to cap a double-digit comeback and eliminate the two-time defending tournament champion Golden Grizzlies. The Oakland men's season ends with a record of 17-15.