Valparaiso 87, Oral Roberts 67

VALPARAISO, Ind. (AP) _ Raitis Grafs scored 24 points and Stalin Ortiz added 16 as Valparaiso's superior second-half shooting lifted the Crusaders to an 87-67 victory over Oral Roberts on Thursday

Friday, January 18th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

VALPARAISO, Ind. (AP) _ Raitis Grafs scored 24 points and Stalin Ortiz added 16 as Valparaiso's superior second-half shooting lifted the Crusaders to an 87-67 victory over Oral Roberts on Thursday night.

Valparaiso (13-6, 3-1 Mid-Continent Conference) trailed Oral Roberts twice in the first half before a layup by Ortiz put Valparaiso ahead for good, 14-12, with 10:35 to go in the half.

But the Golden Eagles (9-10, 3-1) stayed close and at the buzzer the Crusaders had a slim 31-28 edge.

In the second half, however, Valparaiso dominated, outscoring Oral Roberts 56-39 as the Crusaders shot 63 percent (21-of-33) from the field. The Golden Eagles managed just 38 percent (12-of-32).

Ortiz and Milos Stovall scored two 3-pointers each for Valparaiso during the half.

Reggie Borges led Oral Roberts with 14 points and seven rebounds, while Luke Spencer-Gardner and Richie Myers added 13 each.