Oral Roberts 75, Valparaiso 60

TULSA, Okla. (AP) Adam Liberty scored 16 points and sparked a 2nd-half run that carried Oral Roberts past Valparaiso 75-60 on Saturday.<br/> <br/>Liberty, a 6â€™2â€ junior guard who was averaging 6.3

Saturday, January 6th 2007, 5:52 pm

By: News On 6

TULSA, Okla. (AP) Adam Liberty scored 16 points and sparked a 2nd-half run that carried Oral Roberts past Valparaiso 75-60 on Saturday.

Liberty, a 6â€™2â€ junior guard who was averaging 6.3 points per game, was 6-11 from the field, including 4-8 3-pointers. He had 11 points in the 2nd half.

Caleb Green added 14 points and 12 rebounds for the Golden Eagles (9-7, 2-0 Mid-Continent Conference), who have won three in a row and snapped the Crusaders' three-game winning streak. Green had the 54th double-double of his career, tying the ORU record set by Mark Acres from 1981-85.

Calum MacLeod came off the bench to lead the Crusaders (6-9, 1-1) with 17 points and 4 rebounds. MacLeod was 6-7 from the field and 4-5 on free throws. MacLeod entered the game averaging 3.8 points.

ORU scored the first 10 points of the second half, including five by Liberty, to open a 46-31 lead.

Shawn King contributed 13 points and 6 rebounds for the Golden Eagles, who committed a season-low 6 turnovers compared to 15 for the Crusaders. ORU outrebounded Valparaiso 32-29. The Golden Eagles made 8-20 treys while the Crusaders were 2-14.

The lead seesawed through the first 5 minutes before Ken Tutt sank a 3-pointer that ignited an 18-6 run to give ORU a 26-15 advantage.

Valparaiso cut its deficit to 33-27 before a 3-point play by ORU's Marchello Vealy. The Crusaders countered with Samuel Haanpaa's two free throws and a Jarryd Loyd basket in the final 50 seconds of the first half to move within 36-31 at intermission.