Box Score | Season Stats | 2021-22 Schedule
The Basics
Score: Oklahoma State 77 - Oral Roberts 78 (OT)
Record: OSU (6-1) - ORU (3-3)
Location: Tulsa, Okla. (Mabee Center)
 
TULSA, Okla. – In front of a sellout crowd, the Oral Roberts men's basketball team fought Oklahoma State for 65 minutes to a 78-77 loss in overtime Friday afternoon from the Mabee Center.
 
The Golden Eagles got a quality look to win the game in the waning seconds of overtime only to come up short suffering the one-point loss. Max Abmas led all scorers putting up 29 points hitting seven 3-pointers and the home side held a nine-point advantage with less than 12 minutes to play in the second half.

Abmas put on a shooting clinic in the early minutes as the junior scored all of ORU's 11 points pushing out to an 11-2 lead on the Cowboys six minutes into the action. He drained three from distance in a span of just 78 seconds. After OSU chipped away on a 4-0 run, Francis Lacis joined the distance party connecting from the top of the key for a 14-6 advantage. Lacis added another triple at the mid-point of the first half and DeShang Weaver converted at the rim following a block of his own giving the Golden Eagles a 21-13 cushion.
 
The Cowboys closed the gap to two points, 21-19, before Abmas knocked down his fourth 3-pointer of the frame moving ORU back in front by five. Issac McBride drilled a step-back jumper over the top of an OSU defender as the Golden Eagles continued to lead, 28-23, but the visitors were able to score the next nine points over a three-minute stretch taking a 32-28 advantage and ORU faced a 34-31 deficit at halftime.
 
Lacis converted again from downtown as the Golden Eagles tallied the first five points of the second stanza retaking a 36-34 advantage. OSU briefly claimed a two-point cushion until ORU struck for a 6-0 run and Weaver capped an and-one at the rim pushing the margin to 49-42 with 13:13 to play. Weaver stayed in rhythm hitting triples on back-to-back possessions maintaining the seven-point edge before Trey Phipps powered his way inside and scored as the Golden Eagles took a 58-47 lead.
 
With ORU still holding onto a six-point lead, 60-54, the Cowboys found a way to get to the basket and erased the deficit during a 12-2 run that covered more than five minutes for a 66-62 advantage. The Golden Eagles got a long-range shot to fall from Abmas after Carlos Jurgens made a pair of free throws as the home side pulled within two, 69-67. Trailing by two in the final minute, Weaver scored inside to tie the game, 72-72, but missed the and-one free throw before the Cowboys missed a shot as time had nearly expired sending the action into overtime.
 
OSU opened the extra period with a second-chance layup and Abmas and Elijah Lufile combined to make three free throws as the Golden Eagles moved ahead, 75-74. Consecutive baskets from OSU turned the momentum to the visitors and ORU's buzzer-beating shot attempt came up short suffering the loss, 78-77.
 
Turning Point
After Lufile made the front end of his two free throws for a 75-74 lead in overtime, the Cowboys got back-to-back, turnaround jumpers from Bryce Williams pushing to a three-point advantage with 1:10 to play and ORU could not climb back.

Individual Leaders
Oral Roberts: Abmas poured in 17 of the team's 31 first-half points and closed the day scoring a season-high 29 points.

Oklahoma State: Williams paced three Cowboys in double-digit scoring as he totaled 21 points on 7-of-12 shooting. He also posted all six of OSU's points in the overtime session.

Inside the Box Score
- Abmas was electric with the ball in his hands going off for 29 points on 10-of-22 shooting, including 7-of-12 from 3-point range.
 
- Weaver took over the scoring role in the second half where he posted 16 of his 20 points as he made 6-of-9 attempts in the frame and hit from distance three times. The redshirt junior also turned in four of the Golden Eagles' five blocks.
 
- Lacis delivered in clutch moments all afternoon giving ORU 13 points, seven rebounds and a career-high five assists before fouling out late in the contest.

News and Notes
- ORU played in front of a modified sellout crowd of 6,094 inside the renovated Mabee Center recording the program's first sellout since Dec. 14, 1997 against Tulsa.
 
- The Golden Eagles held a lead for 26:27 overall, including more than 14 minutes of the first half.
 
- Free throws proved difficult for the Golden Eagles Friday as they made 8-of-14 for the day.

- Oklahoma State made its first appearance at the Mabee Center since 1997 and won the battle inside out-scoring ORU by a 56-26 margin in the paint.

Up Next
ORU closes a three-game stretch inside the Mabee Center when it hosts cross-town rival Tulsa Monday night at 7 p.m. live on the ORU Sports Network and KGEB TV-53.

For the latest information on ORU Men's Basketball, follow the Golden Eagles on Twitter and Instagram, or go to www.ORUAthletics.com. Fans can also receive updates on the team by downloading the ORU Athletics app from the App Store or Google Play Store.