LAS VEGAS,
Nev.-Damen
Bell-Holter (Hydaburg, Alaska) scored 16 points to lead Oral
Roberts, but the Golden Eagles faltered down the stretch in
suffering a 52-49 loss to UALR, Tuesday at the Las Vegas Holiday
Hoops Classic.
Trailing by
three (50-47) with 2:35 left, ORU pulled to within 50-49 on a
tip-in basket by Steven
Roundtree (Jacksonville, Fla.) with 43 seconds to play.
But with a
chance to take the lead, Dominique
Morrison (Kansas City, Mo.) missed the front-end of a
one-and-one just 10 seconds later. Down 51-49 with 11 seconds left,
Bell-Holter missed a pair of free throws. After UALR's Solomon
Bozeman made just one of two free throws for a 52-49 advantage, Warren
Niles (Cincinnati, Ohio) missed a game-tying three-pointer at
the buzzer.
After
leading 28-21 at halftime and leading by nine 15 seconds into the
second half, the Golden Eagles (4-8) began to struggle. Bell-Holter
gave ORU a 30-21 advantage with 19:45 remaining, but ORU misfired
on five of its next six possessions, allowing the Trojans (7-6) to
get back in the game. UALR tied it at 32-32 when Bozeman nailed a
jumper with 15:20 left.
Bell-Holter
gave ORU the lead back when a jumper made it 34-32 and a pair of Tim
Morton (Greenbelt, Md.) free throws gave the Golden Eagles a
36-32 edge with 13:09 left.
Morrison,
who earlier in the game became the 28th player in ORU history to
reach the 1,000-career point mark, drained a three-pointer for a
39-35 advantage with 11:10 left. But the Golden Eagles scored just
five points on their next 11 possessions, and UALR regained the
lead.
Bozeman
converted a pair of free throws for a 44-43 lead with 6:41
remaining, giving UALR the lead for good.
For the
fourth straight game ORU struggled with shooting from the field,
converting on just 32 percent of its field goal attempts. UALR shot
just 35 percent but the Trojans out-rebounded ORU 43-33, including
17-12 in offensive rebounds.
Bell-Holter
was 6-of-10 from the field and grabbed five rebounds. Roundtree
finished with his third double of the year after scoring 11 points
and grabbing 13 rebounds.
The Golden
Eagles conclude play at the Las Vegas Holiday Hoops Classic when
they face Rice, 4:15 p.m., Wednesday.
--ORU--
