Box Score | Season Stats | 2019-20 Schedule
The Basics
Score: Oral Roberts 74 – Iowa 87
Record: ORU (1-3) – IOWA (2-1)
Location: Iowa City, Iowa (Carver-Hawkeye Arena)
IOWA CITY, Iowa – The Oral Roberts men's basketball team out-scored Iowa in the second half thanks to a career night from Max Abmas, but could not erase an early deficit falling on the road Friday night inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena, 87-74.
Abmas dropped 16 of his career-best 25 points in the final 20 minutes helping the Golden Eagles stay in contention getting within eight in the final minutes.
Emmanuel Nzekwesi knocked down a long ball from the top of the key giving the ORU a 3-0 lead on its first possession. The Hawkeyes posted the next eight points before the Golden Eagles fought back on a Deondre Burns jumper closing the gap to one, 8-7.
Iowa used another strong push scoring nine-straight points for a 24-10 cushion and led by as many as 16 points entering the halftime break in front, 55-40. The Golden Eagles shot at a high clip from the floor, 47 percent, in the opening frame, but was hampered by 10 turnovers leading to 15 Hawkeye points.
Abmas took over in the second half for the ORU offense scoring back-to-back baskets attacking the rim as ORU closed the gap to 14, 78-64. A late 5-0 run started by a three-point play from Nzekwesi allowed the Golden Eagles claw back even closer making it a 10-point deficit until Abmas hit a floater cutting it to 82-74 until Iowa closed out the home decision.
Quote of the Game
"Iowa threw it in the paint, and their two interior players were really good and played well. I think it led to 35 paint points in the first half and it was the difference in the game." – Head Coach Paul Mills
Turning Point
Kevin Obanor connected from 3-point range getting ORU back to a 15-10 margin at the 15:18 mark in the first half, but the Hawkeyes scored the next nine points over a span of nearly three minutes to take control of the action leading, 24-10.
Individual Leaders
Oral Roberts: Abmas provided a spark for the Golden Eagles offense in the second half as the freshman scored 16 of his team-leading 25 points to set a career high. He hit 7-of-11 shots in the final stanza to finish 9-of-16 from the floor.
Iowa: Luka Garza controlled inside for the Hawkeyes posting a career-high 30 points, including 18 in the first half totaling a 12-of-19 shooting effort on the night. He finished with 10 rebounds to complete the double-double.
Inside the Box Score
- Nzekwesi scored nine of his 14 points in the second half as the only other ORU player to reach double-digit scoring and tallied eight rebounds.
- Obanor grabbed a team-leading nine rebounds and chipped in eight points, all of which came in the first half. Five of the redshirt sophomore's boards came on the offensive end.
- Seven different players posted at least five points for the Golden Eagles offensively.
News and Notes
- The Hawkeyes dominated attempts at the free throw line by a 26-12 margin, but the Golden Eagles shot 83 percent from the line as the home side converted just 58 percent.
- After Iowa turned 10 first-half turnovers by ORU into 15 points, the visitors committed just two turnovers the rest of the way leading to three Hawkeye points.
- Friday marked just the second meeting between the two schools and the first since playing in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, back in 1987.
- The announced attendance of 11,021 is the largest of the 2019-20 season as ORU was on the road facing a team from the Big Ten.
Up Next
The Golden Eagles return home for a quick matchup against the Hillcats of Rogers State Tuesday night. First tip is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Mabee Center.
For the latest information on ORU men's basketball, follow @ORUMBB on Twitter or Instagram, or go to www.ORUAthletics.com. Fans can also receive updates on the team by downloading the ORU Athletics Front Row App at ORUAthletics.com/frontrow or the ORU Golden Eagles Live App in iTunes or the Google Play Store. For tickets, visit mabeecenter.com or call 495-7ORU (7678).
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