Box Score | Season Stats | 2019-20 Schedule

The Basics
Score: Western Illinois 70 - Oral Roberts 113
Record: WIU (5-20, 2-13 SL) – ORU (15-13, 8-7 SL)
Location: Tulsa, Okla. (Mabee Center)

TULSA, Okla. – Behind three runs of 10-0 or more in the first half, the Oral Roberts men's basketball team raced out to a commanding lead on its way to a dominating, 113-70, victory Thursday night over Western Illinois inside the Mabee Center.

Emmanuel Nzekwesi posted a double-double in the opening frame and Deondre Burns became the first Summit League player this season to record double-figure assists as he had a 15-point, 10-assist double-double. Six Golden Eagles reached double-digit scoring led by Kevin Obanor's 24 points as the team knocked down 17 3-pointers to reach 100 points for the first time since 2018.

The Golden Eagles used three-straight triples from Obanor and Max Abmas to turn a 3-0 deficit into a 13-3 advantage and never looked back as the margin did not drop below double digits for the final 33 minutes of action. ORU scored an 11-0 run at the mid-point of the opening half to move ahead, 26-10, and closed the frame by scoring the final 17 points for a decisive, 30-point cushion at the break, 63-33.

ORU extended the push into the second half scoring the first four points of the stanza making it a 21-0 stretch covering more than four minutes. An Obanor flush helped the Golden Eagles to a 38-point lead, 94-56, on a 9-2 push at the 7:11 mark. The advantage swelled to 40 points when Aidan Saunders hammered a breakaway dunk as ORU crested the century mark for a 101-61 lead before finishing off the 113-70 decision.

Quote of the Game
"Any time you make 17 three's, that's a lot. To have 26 assists on 44 buckets gives you an idea of how well we were sharing it. I thought our guys did a great job making defensive adjustments on the fly as well." – Head Coach Paul Mills

Turning Point
After falling behind 3-0 15 seconds into the contest, the Golden Eagles were in control the rest of the way started on a 13-0 run during a 3:23 span moving in front 13-3. The Leathernecks were able to close the gap on a 5-0 run of their own before ORU pushed the margin to 22 and never slowed down.

Individual Leaders
Oral Roberts: Nzekwesi set the tone early for the Golden Eagles tallying 11 points and 12 rebounds in the first half alone going on to finish with 13 points and 13 rebounds. It was his 11th double-double this season in just 24 minutes on the court as he was a +37 when on the floor.

Western Illinois: Ben Pyle led the Leathernecks scoring 21 points as he hit 5-of-9 from long range helping the team make 12 from distance in the contest.

Inside the Box Score
- All five starters for ORU recorded double-figure scoring, while Francis Lacis joined the scoring barrage from the bench as the team had six reach double digits for the first time since Dec. 17, 2018 at Missouri.

- Nzekwesi tallied a double-double before the first-half buzzer in the 100th start of his career. He hit 5-of-7 shot attempts for the night and added a season-high three assists. On his third rebound, the redshirt senior moved past Antonio Martin (1977-80) for sixth place on the ORU career rebounding list and now has 868 in his tenure.

- Burns was a catalyst for the ORU offense totaling 15 points and a career-best 10 assists for his first double-double of the season. His 10 assists are the most by a Golden Eagles player since Kaelen Malone had 11 against WIU Jan. 15, 2019.

- Obanor led all players on the night registering 24 points as the redshirt sophomore missed only one shot all night connecting on 10-of-11 attempts, including all three from behind the arc. He also had eight rebounds.

- R.J. Fuqua converted a career high in field goals hitting 7-of-10 finishing with 18 points, 13 of which came in the first half. Abmas made 4-of-7 shots from deep on his was to 12 points.

- Lacis dropped in a career-best 16 points shooting 4-of-5 from 3-point range and hit the mark on a fastbreak dunk. Aidan Saunders equaled his career-best totaling four assists helping ORU to a season-high 26 assists as a team.

News and Notes
- The Golden Eagles put together the most points in a single game by a Summit League team this season and were one triple shy of matching the school record hitting 17 from behind the arc. ORU hit the century mark for the 109th time in program history and first since facing Ecclesia Nov. 19, 2018 (109).

- ORU shot 69 percent from distance in the opening half, its highest percentage in a half this season, while also knocking down 67 percent of attempts from the floor. It also was the first time the Golden Eagles scored at least 60 points in a half since Feb. 26, 2016 at Omaha.

- The Golden Eagles (8-7) moved one game in front of North Dakota (7-8) for fifth place in The Summit League standings, while sitting just one back of third-place South Dakota (9-6) and Omaha (9-6) with one game to play.

Up Next
ORU plays its final game of the 2019-20 regular season Saturday night hosting the Mastodons of Purdue Fort Wayne. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Mabee Center with live video on ESPN3.

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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