Box Score
TULSA, Okla.-Hot shooting down the stretch by Weber State proved
the difference as the Wildcats spoiled the home finale for Oral
Roberts and seniors Damen
Bell-Holter and Warren
Niles, both of whom were honored following the contest.
Weber State (20-5) shot nearly 70 percent in the second half,
including a 7-11 mark from 3-point range as they topped ORU (17-11)
on Saturday night.
Despite a disappointing feeling on senior night, Bell-Holter and
Niles will both be remembered fondly, having written their names
all over the career record books, ranking in the top-10 in
categories such as points, rebounds, 3-pointers and blocks, among
others.
Shawn
Glover had a team-high 16 points for ORU, while the senior duo
added 13 points apiece. Steven
Roundtree added 12 points for the Golden Eagles, who shot 52
percent (28-53) for the game.
The solid shooting performance by the Golden Eagles was topped
by the nation's most efficient offense as the Wildcats hit 68
percent (15-22). Weber State was led by 20 points from Kyle Tresnak
while Scott Bamforth added 16 points, including four 3-pointers.
Jordan Richardson added another four treys and 12 points, while
Frank Otis put in 11 points, nine of which came in the first
half.
"That was a tough loss," said Coach Scott
Sutton. "I hate it for Damen and Warren, losing on senior
night, but we got beat by a very good basketball team. They are a
team that executes as well as any team that we have faced in quite
some time. They are a veteran team, they are a well-coached team,
they've got guys who can shoot the ball, and they've got players
inside who can score. We just had too many breakdowns in the second
half. Every time they got a clean look they made it. I thought we
did a lot of good things, we just got beat by a really good
team."
The ORU offense didn't come from one person early as the first
four baskets came from four different people. Weber State on the
other hand got nine of its first 19 points from Otis.
The Wildcats opened up an early 9-4 lead, but ORU came right
back and the battle was on in a first half that featured six ties
and seven lead changes.
After three Niles free throws, ORU opened up its largest lead of
the half at seven thanks to a Roundtree layup with less than a
minute and held the 36-29 lead at the break. ORU out-scored the
Wildcats 10-4 over the last 3:23 of the half.
Weber State opened the second half with four-straight points and
out-scored ORU by a count of 13-6 to close the gap and tie the game
at 42-42 with just under 15 minutes to play.
The onslaught would continue with back-to-back 3-pointers by
Richardson to make it a 19-6 advantage in the half and a 48-42 lead
on the scoreboard. Finally Korey
Billbury stopped the 11-0 Wildcat run with a layup, and sparked
a 9-0 run by ORU as they took the lead back at 51-48 after an
alley-oop to Roundtree.
After a 5-12 start behind the arc, the Wildcats hit their next
four from long range, helping them turn a 3-point ORU lead into a
nine-point advantage at 64-55.
ORU would get back to within five on a couple of occasions down
the stretch, but Weber State was able to hold off the late Golden
Eagle charge.
ORU will finish the season off on the road, playing three
straight Southland Conference games away from the Mabee Center. The
road swing begins on Thursday as the Golden Eagles make the trip to
Lake Charles, La., to face McNeese State at 7:30 p.m.
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