ORU and Tulsa Battle for Bragging Rights in Mayor's Cup

Originally Published: Jan 19, 2010 4:57 PM CDT

Dave Carty
Oklahoma Sports Staff Writer

TULSA, Oklahoma -- With Oral Roberts and Tulsa scheduled to meet in Wednesday’s Mayor’s Cup matchup, both coaches are looking to grab hometown bragging rights.

But home sweet home has been the name of the game in the Mayor’s Cup of late.

The home team has won the last four installments in the rivalry, dating back to December of 2004.

“The home team has held serve the last several years,” said Oral Roberts coach Scott Sutton. “The home team has normally won. Hopefully that trend continues Wednesday night. We’re facing an awfully talented and very good basketball team.”

Center Jerome Jordan and guard Ben Uzoh are atop Sutton’s list of Tulsa concerns, but he also praised junior guard Justin Hurtt who averages 15.6 points per game.

“Everybody knows about Uzoh and Jordan but I think the guy that’s really impressed me so far this year is [Justin] Hurtt,” said Sutton. “He’s really stepped up his production and is shooting the basketball awfully well.”

“The games have been really exciting, real fun,” Tulsa’s leading scorer Uzoh said. “It’s tough to play there. They’re a great team. They got great pieces.”

The Golden Eagles are led by forwards Michael Craion (12.7 points per game) and Kevin Ford (12.2) but leading scorer Dominique Morrison (15.5) will command the most attention.

“Dominic Morrison is a very good player,” said Tulsa coach Doug Wojcik. “He’s a matchup problem for everybody.”

Uzoh, for one, says he’ll be up to the challenge.

“It’s an easy game to get up for,” he said. “It’s a big game.”