The Basics
Score: ORU 69 - Milwaukee 66
Records: ORU (2-3) - UWM (2-4)
Location: MGM Grand Garden Arena - Las Vegas, Nev.

LAS VEGAS, Nev. - Oral Roberts University nearly had a 15-point lead evaporate, but hit free throws down the stretch and held on to beat Milwaukee 69-66 in the MGM Grand Main Event Wednesday afternoon.

With the victory, ORU caused a three-way tie in the Middleweight Division with all three teams finishing with 1-1 records in Las Vegas. Louisiana takes home the championship on a point differential tiebreaker.

Korey Billbury was nearly unstoppable in the first half for ORU (2-3), notching a double-double in the first 20 minutes. Billbury finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds. In the second half, it was all Obi Emegano, who scored 18 of his 20 points after halftime.

Steve McWhorter was the offense for the Panthers (2-4), scoring 21 points on an 8-of-14 shooting effort.

Quote of the Game
"I thought we took steps today and we got better. Obviously we still have a lot to improve on. When you get a team down by 15, you have to put them away. That said, I'm proud of our guys. After they tied it up, we executed back-to-back plays to get us the win." - Scott Sutton

Turning Point
ORU used a 7-0 run, including a 3-pointer at the buzzer from Bobby Word to take a 33-25 lead into the break. With the first two points of the second half, ORU notched a double-digit lead for the first time in the game.

Individual Leaders
Oral Roberts: Obi Emegano scored 18 second-half points and notched 20 for the game. Korey Billbury got it done in the first half, and finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds, including six offensive boards.
Milwaukee: Steve McWhorter had a game-high 21 points, while JJ Panoske and Matt Tiby led the Panthers with seven rebounds each.

Inside the Box Score
- ORU had 17 offensive rebounds and out-rebounded UWM 34-30 for the game.
- UWM shot just 60 percent (12-20) from the free throw line for the game. ORU on the other hand was solid from the charity stripe to an 80.8 percent clip (21-26).
- ORU was 22-54 (40.7 percent) from the field in the game and still struggled from long range, hitting just for of 13 attempts (30.8 percent).
- Both teams went through a scoring drought of nearly four minutes with ORU up 47-35 during the second half.
- UWM mounted a 10-2 run in the second half to get back into the game and then hit 3-pointers down the stretch to continue to chip away at the Golden Eagle's lead.

News & Notes
- Korey Billbury earned the sixth double-double of his career in the first half alone on Wednesday, scoring 14 points and grabbing 11 rebounds in the 20 minutes.
- After averaging 20 turnovers per game over the last two games, ORU turned it over just nine times on Wednesday, matching the mark from Missouri as the fewest giveaways this season.
- ORU, Louisiana and Milwaukee finished in a three-way tie for the Middleweight Division Championship, each going 1-1 in Las Vegas.

Up Next
The Golden Eagle's five-game, 15-day road trip will finish up Monday, December 1, as ORU travels to Ogden, Utah, to face Weber State.

For the latest information on ORU men's basketball, follow @ORUMBB on Twitter or go to www.ORUAthletics.com.

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