Oakland opens strong at Dell™ BCA Classic
Helms sets tournament record with 31 points in lopsided win

Box Score

CINCINNATI - Mike Helms set a tournament record with 31 points on Saturday to lead Oakland to a 93-68 win over San Diego in the first round of the Dell™ Black Coaches Association Classic.

The senior guard, the nation's top returning scorer from last season, broke the previous record of 30 by Purdue's Roy Hairston against Memphis in 1995. Helms set the record with 5:11 left in the game and was removed immediately.

Rawle Marshall added 19 points for Oakland (1-0) of the Mid-Continent Conference.
Nick Lewis and Brice Vounang each had 19 points for San Diego (0-1). Lewis had a game-high 13 rebounds and Vounang finished with 11 rebounds.

The eight-team tournament is being played on Xavier's home court, the top team in the three-day tournament.

Helms scored 23 points in the first half, 15 on five 3-pointers, as the Golden Grizzlies opened up leads of 20 points three times, including 53-33 at halftime. Oakland's press helped force the Toreros into 29 turnovers.

San Diego played its first game without junior forward Corey Belser, the only starter returning from last year's West Coast Conference tournament championship team. Belser suffered a season-ending right knee injury in the Toreros' second exhibition game.