TULSA—Trailing 19-8 less than eight minutes into the game,
Oral Roberts University took control of the game with a 19-1 run
and coasted to an 84-70 Mayor's Cup victory over Tulsa, Tuesday at
Mabee Center.
It's ORU's fourth victory in the intra-city rivalry in the last
five years, and the Golden Eagles' third straight overall.
With 12:45 remaining in the first half, Jerome Jordan's dunk put
the Golden Eagles (4-2) in an 11-point hole. But four consecutive
three-point by the Golden Eagles ignited the game-changing run.
With ORU down 20-17,
Robert Jarvis (Humble, Texas) tied the game
with a trey at 9:26, and a layup by Adam
Liberty (Oklahoma City, Okla.) gave ORU its first lead of the
game at 22-20 lead with 8:09 to go in the half.
Once Liberty gave ORU the advantage, the Golden Eagles never
trailed again. The Golden Eagles held a 38-27 edge at halftime.
Marcus Lewis (Long Beach, Calif.) led the charge
in the second half, scoring 15 of his 21 points after the
break.
Tulsa (2-2) tried to make a game of it in the final 20 minutes as
sophomore guard Ben Uzoh scored 14 of his team-high 20 points in
the second half. He scored 12 of Tulsa's first 14 points in the
half, bringing the Golden Hurricane with 51-41 on a pair of free
throws with 15:23 to play.
But the Golden Eagles proved to be too much on both ends of the
court. ORU shot 59.3 percent in the second half and finished the
game at 52.6 percent, becoming the first opponent to shoot over 50
percent in Tulsa head coach Doug Wojcik's 62-game career.
ORU limited Tulsa to 40.7 percent shooting, while out-rebounding
the Golden Hurricane, 34-29. The Golden Eagles also committed a
season-low 11 turnovers.
Jarvis led all scorers with 23 points, going 8-of-15 from the
field, including 5-of-10 from three-point range. Lewis scored 21
points with eight rebounds and two assists. Liberty added 18
points, six rebounds and five assists.
Jordan scored 15 points with six rebounds and three blocks in
support of Uzoh, who also had seven boards and three assists.
Justin Hurtt added 10 points off the bench for TU.
Up next for the Golden Eagles is a clash with Arkansas, 2:05 p.m.,
Saturday in Fayetteville.
--ORU--
