Box Score | Season Stats | 2019-20 Schedule

The Basics
Score: Oral Roberts 79 - South Dakota State 96
Record: ORU (7-7, 0-1 SL) – SDSU (10-7, 1-1 SL)
Location: Brookings, S.D. (Frost Arena)

BROOKINGS, S.D. – A strong start to the second half was not enough to help the Oral Roberts men's basketball team overcome a difficult opening frame falling at South Dakota State, 96-79, Thursday night at Frost Arena.

Trailing by 18 points at halftime, the Golden Eagles scored the first 11 points out of intermission to swing momentum in their favor, but could not recover from the early deficit away from home.

Kevin Obanor broke an early 8-8 deadlock hitting from long range, but it was the Jackrabbits that scored the next nine points over a nearly three-minute stretch taking control of the contest. The home side used another extended run stretching its lead to 31-19 and went in front by as many as 19 in the opening half. SDSU posted 34 points inside the paint during the first frame taking a 45-27 edge into the locker room.

The Golden Eagles quickly erased the bad taste it left the first half with and came out of the break on fire registering an 11-0 run to climb back into the game. Emmanuel Nzekwesi powered to the rim and secured two offensive rebounds before scoring on the put back kick-starting the offense. After Sam Kearns hit a 3-pointer, Nzekwesi followed suit on his lone attempt from distance and Deondre Burns got in the act on the next possession cutting the deficit to 45-38 silencing the crowd inside Frost Arena.

The Jacks were able to withstand the barrage and regained a 14-point cushion five minutes into the half. The Golden Eagles got within nine, 57-48, on an offensive rebound and layup from Elijah Lufile, only to see SDSU post a 9-3 run to push the margin back to 15, 66-51.

The lead went as high as 20 points before Burns converted a pair of free throws making it an 11-point margin with five minutes remaining. That was all the closer ORU would get dropping its Summit League opener on the road, 96-79.

Quote of the Game
"They kicked our butt in every single phase of this game. You can get tricked sometimes by making some threes and you think you're in it when you're not. We made some threes, but I think they shot it even better in the second half than the first." – Head Coach Paul Mills

Turning Point
After Obanor drained his first of three triples in the contest giving ORU an 11-8 advantage, the Jackrabbits powered their way inside and connected on each of their next four shots, including three in the paint to turn a three-point Golden Eagles lead into a six-point edge for SDSU.

Individual Leaders
Oral Roberts: Burns paced the Golden Eagles scoring a season-high 23 points, 17 of which came in the second half, aided by hitting 6-of-7 free throws. The senior added eight assists for the second-consecutive outing.

South Dakota State: Douglas Wilson, one of four Jackrabbits to reach double-digit scoring, put together a 25-point, 10-rebound double-double effort.

Inside the Box Score
- Burns dropped in 11 points over the final seven minutes of the game trying to propel the Golden Eagles comeback bid. He went 7-of-16 from the floor and hit three from distance finishing with 23 points.

- For the third-straight game and 26th time of his ORU career, Nzekwesi ended a game with a double-double performance. The Trophy Club, Texas, native tallied 12 points and a game-best 13 rebounds.

- Obanor and Max Abmas each gave ORU 14 points and it was Obanor that posted three makes from distance, while Abmas shot 50 percent overall and 2-of-5 from 3-point range.

- Lufile chipped in six of the Golden Eagles 11 points off the bench and grabbed six rebounds.

- ORU committed just six turnovers for the night, its second-fewest in a game this season, and dished out 15 assists.

News and Notes
- The Golden Eagles converted six of their first seven attempts from long range opening the second half to get back into the game and totaled 11 made 3-pointers for the night.

- The 96 points allowed by ORU was the most given up in a single game this season as it allowed the Jackrabbits to shoot 63 percent from the floor, the highest for an opponent since facing FGCU Dec. 12, 2018.

- SDSU, winners of the previous four Summit League regular season championships, remained unbeaten on its home floor (9-0) this season, while the Golden Eagles fell to 1-7 away from home.

Up Next
ORU closes its three-game road swing with a trip to Omaha, Nebraska, to battle the Mavericks Saturday night at 7 p.m.

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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