TULSA—Oral Roberts University limited Oakland to 30 percent
shooting as the Golden Eagles captured their ninth consecutive
victory with a 60-53 Summit League win, Thursday at Mabee
Center.
ORU (16-5, 11-0) stayed perfect in Summit League play and continued
the best conference-games start in league history. It also extended
ORU's home court conference winning streak to 24 games, and was the
Golden Eagles' 32nd win in its last 34 games against league
opponents.
Robert Jarvis (Humble, Texas) scored six of his
game-high 14 points in the final 1:33 to help ORU overcome 39.2
percent shooting and 16 turnovers.
The Golden Eagles struggled out of the gate, scoring just nine
points in the first 14 minutes. But Oakland (12-11, 7-5) only led
14-9 before the Golden Eagles went on a 11-2 run, taking a 21-16
lead on a Jarvis three-pointer with 3:09 before halftime.
Adam Liberty (Oklahoma City, Okla.) scored five
points in the final 2:17 to help give ORU a 28-21 lead advantage at
the break.
ORU turned up the defense early in the second half, holding Oakland
scoreless for the 7:03. By the time Patrick McCloskey finally broke
the dry spell for the Golden Grizzlies with a layup at 12:57, ORU
held a 32-23 lead.
Kelvin Sango (Tulsa, Okla.) score back-to-back
baskets as ORU's lead swelled to 13 points at 36-23 with 12:17 to
play. The lead stayed between 10-13 points over the next
five-and-a-half minutes before Oakland's Erik Kangas heated up. The
league's' top three-pointer shooter, Kangas was held without a
field goal for the first 35 minutes, but hit three consecutive
treys over three minutes to pull Oakland within 49-44 with 2:12
left.
A single free throw by Nelson made it 49-45 with 1:41 to play, but
ORU's defense tightened up. A steal and breakaway dunk by Sango,
and a pair of Jarvis free throws following a technical on Oakland's
bench put ORU up 55-45 with 48 seconds left.
The Golden Eagles and Golden Grizzlies combined for 80 missed shots
from the field. Oakland's shooting percentage was the lowest by an
ORU opponent this season. ORU out-rebounded the league's top
rebounding team, 45-39, behind Marcus
Lewis' (Long Beach, Calif.) career-high 13 boards.
Liberty joined Jarvis in double-figures, scoring 13 points on
4-of-7 shooting and 4-of-5 from the line.
Nelson led Oakland with 13 points, but was 4-for-18 from the field.
Kangas and Jonathon Jones each scored 12 , but combined to go
9-for-27 from the field.
The Golden Eagles return to action when they host IPFW, 7:05 p.m.,
Saturday, at Mabee Center.
--ORU--
