INDIANAPOLIS, Ind.—Austin Montgomery converted a three-point
play with 26 seconds remaining to lift IUPUI to a 69-66 Summit
League win over Oral Roberts University, Saturday at IUPUI
Gymnasium.
The loss was ORU's (18-6, 13-1) first in league play this season
and snapped the Golden Eagles' 11-game winning streak. It was ORU's
first loss overall since a Dec. 29 setback at Utah State.
Second-place IUPUI (21-5, 13-2) moved within one-half game of the
league-leading Golden Eagles.
ORU trailed 32-23 at halftime, and by as many as 11 early in the
second half before storming back behind Robert
Jarvis (Humble, Texas) and Moses
Ehambe (Arlington, Texas). The duo combined to score 28
second-half points but in the end, it wasn't enough.
With ORU trailing 37-26 with 17:57, Ehambe scored five straight
points to pull the Golden Eagles within 37-31 with 16:54 left. A
three-pointer by Jarvis with 13:47 remaining made it 41-36 before
IUPUI went on a 5-0 run to push the lead back to double digits at
46-36.
Shawn King (Bequia, St. Vincent) and Jarvis
combined to score all of ORU's points during a 9-2 run which put
the Golden Eagles within 48-45 with 7:53 to go. A missed jumper by
IUPUI's Jon Avery led to a fast-break layup by Yemi
Ogunoye (Cedar Hill, Texas) and ORU moved within one point at
48-47 with 7:15 left.
After a basket by Avery on the other end, Ehambe tied the game at
50 with a three-pointer at 6:37.
With momentum clearly on ORU's side, IUPUI took it back on its next
possession. As Montgomery was shooting, he was stripped at the top
of the key but
Adam Liberty (Oklahoma City, Okla.) was whistled
for a foul after getting the ball and taking three dribbles.
Montgomery was awarded three free throws, made them all and IUPUI
led 53-50 with 6:15 remaining.
But Ehambe came up big again, nailing a trey with 5:05 to go,
forging a 53-53 tie. Gary Patterson's three-pointer gave IUPUI a
56-53 lead, but Jarvis responded with a three-pointer and a free
throw as ORU grabbed a 57-56 lead with 4:26 to play.
The lead changed hands four more times over the next four minutes,
with neither team leading by more than two. A three-pointer by
Jarvis with 44 seconds left gave ORU its last lead, 66-65, before
Montgomery's game-winning play for the Jaguars.
Ehambe led all scorers with 19 points, going 7-of-11 from the field
and 5-of-8 on three-pointers. King added 18 points and seven
rebounds, while Jarvis scored 14.
Montgomery paced four Jags in double-digits with 18 points,
followed by George Hill with 16, Patterson with 15 and Billy
Pettiford with 10.
The Golden Eagles shot 48 percent from the field, including 50
percent in the second half. IUPUI shot just 43.1 percent for the
game, but was 8-of-16 from three-point range.
ORU returns to action when they host Southern Utah, 7:05 p.m.,
Tuesday at Mabee Center.
--ORU--
