Valparaiso 84, Oral Roberts 71

VALPARAISO, Ind. (AP) _ Raitis Grafs scored 29 points on 11-of-15 shooting and Valparaiso won its sixth game in a row as the Crusaders beat Oral Roberts 84-71 Thursday night. <br><br>Valparaiso (11-7,

Friday, January 31st 2003, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

VALPARAISO, Ind. (AP) _ Raitis Grafs scored 29 points on 11-of-15 shooting and Valparaiso won its sixth game in a row as the Crusaders beat Oral Roberts 84-71 Thursday night.

Valparaiso (11-7, 6-0 Mid-Continent) broke a 32-all tie in the second half, outscoring Oral Roberts (13-6, 4-2 Mid-Continent) 52-39.

The Crusaders went on a 24-12 run that started with a 3-pointer by Grafs and ended with another 3-pointer by Seth Colclasure, establishing a 12-point lead with just under 10 minutes remaining.

The Golden Eagles got the deficit down to seven with 1:30 left, but Valparaiso's Stalin Ortiz hit two free throws to restore the lead to nine.

Joaquim Gomes scored 11 and Ortiz had 10 points in the second half as each scored 16 points overall. Reggie Borges had 22 points for Oral Roberts and Cameron Tragardh added 13.

The Crusaders shot 60% from the field as they won their 20th consecutive home victory.