TULSA�€"Oral Roberts University owned a 15-point
halftime lead, but the Golden Eagles needed five free throws and
steal in the final 34 seconds get an 85-80 Mid-Continent Conference
win over Centenary, Thursday at Mabee Center.
The
win, coupled with Oakland�€™s 80-76 overtime loss
at UMKC, gives the Golden Eagles (19-8, 11-1) at least a share of
their third consecutive Mid-Con regular season title.
Leading
48-33 at halftime, ORU had to hold off a furious Centenary (9-18,
3-9) rally in the final 20 minutes.
Centenary wasted no time in making a game of it. Alexander Starr
was fouled while shooting a three-pointer and made both free
throws, putting the Gents within 10 points at 55-45 with 15:39
remaining.
A layup
by Starr with 14:50 remaining started a 10-0 run. The Gents made it
a 1-point game when Lance Hill�€™s layup made it
57-56 with 11:52 to go.
ORU
pushed the lead back up to four points (60-56) with 10:52 to go on
a pair of free throws by Ken Tutt (Garland, Texas)
and a single free throw by Caleb Green (Tulsa,
Okla.). But Centenary charged right back, going on a 7-2 run and
taking their first lead of the game when Chase Adams drained a
three-pointer to make it 63-62 with 9:28 left.
There
were 12 ties and lead changes over the next 5-and-a-half minutes
before ORU appeared to gain some breathing room. A three-pointer by
Adam Liberty (Oklahoma City, Okla.) snapped 75-75
tie and gave ORU a 78-75 lead with 3:47 remaining. ORU held on to
the lead for the next three minutes until back-to-back baskets by
Hill and Nick Stallings tied it at 80-80 with 47 seconds left.
Green
broke the tied on the other end, draining a pair of free throw with
34 seconds left to give ORU an 82-80 lead. Starr missed a driving
layup for Centenary with 14 seconds remaining, and Tutt was fouled
after grabbing the rebound with 11 seconds left.
Tutt
made the first free throw for an 83-80 lead, but missed the second.
Centenary rebounded and frantically pushed the ball up the court,
but Yemi Ogunoye (Cedar Hill, Texas) stripped the
Gents�€™ Tyrone Hamilton at midcourt, setting up
the game-clinching free throws by Moses Ehambe
(Arlington, Texas) with 2.5 seconds left.
Five
players scored in double figures for ORU. Tutt led all scorers with
25 points, adding four assists and three rebounds. He was 6-of-10
from the field, including 3-of-6 from three-point range, and went
10-of-12 from the line.
Green
added 20 points for ORU, while Shawn King (Bequia,
St. Vincent) added 13 points and eight rebounds, Ehambe scored 12
and Liberty chipped in with 11.
Starr
and Hamilton each scored 20 points for the Gents, while Hill scored
17 and Adams added 10 off the bench.
ORU
shot 56.5 percent for the game, but just 36.8 percent in the second
half. The Golden Eagles blistered the nets at a 70.4-percent clip
in the first half.
Centenary shot 52.7 percent for the game, including 57.7 percent in
the second half.
The
Golden Eagles close out the home portion of their 2006-07 schedule
when they host Utah State, 6:05 p.m., Saturday at Mabee Center as
part of the ESPNU O�€™Reilly Bracket Buster. The
game will be televised live nationally on ESPNU, and is also senior
night as Green and Tutt play their final home game.
--ORU--
