Oakland, Mich. 85, Oral Roberts 76

Friday, February 8th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

ROCHESTER, Mich. (AP) _ Dan Champagne's 24 points led all five starters in double figures as Oakland beat Oral Roberts 85-76 on Thursday night and moved into second place in the Mid-Continent Conference.

The win exacted some revenge for Oakland, which had lost to Oral Roberts 93-61 on Jan. 12.

The two teams traded baskets early until Oral Roberts (12-12, 6-3) closed a 31-23 first-half deficit with a 10-0 run in the final minutes, eventually settling for a 35-35 tie with the Grizzlies at halftime.

Reggie Borges led Oral Roberts with 12 points in the first half on 5-of-7 shooting and finished with 27 points. Tyrone Tiggs added 16 points and nine rebounds.

Oakland (14-11, 7-3) shot 38.7 percent in the first half, compared to 46.9 percent for Oral Roberts. The Grizzlies opened the second half with a 24-8 run for a 59-43 lead with 12:28 remaining.

Oral Roberts answered with a 19-6 run of its own, to get within 65-62 with 7:57 left, but that was as close as the Golden Eagles got, as the Grizzlies sank 10 foul shots down the stretch.

Brad Buddenborg scored 22 points for Oakland. Michael Covinton added 12 points, eight rebounds and a game-high seven assists.

Oakland won the rebounding battle 39-38 and converted 26 of 32 free-throws.