Box Score | Season Stats | 2020-21 Schedule
The Basics
Score: Oral Roberts 80 – North Dakota State 74
Record: ORU (10-8, 7-3 SL) – NDSU (11-9, 9-3 SL)
Location: Fargo, N.D. (Scheels Center)
 
FARGO, N.D. – The Oral Roberts men's basketball team led wire-to-wire and walked away from North Dakota State with an 80-74 victory Saturday night at the Scheels Center to split the weekend series.
 
With the outside temperature double digits below zero, it was the icy nerves of the Golden Eagles down the stretch at the free-throw line to hold off a late NDSU rally and win for the first time in Fargo, North Dakota, since 2012.
 
The Golden Eagles held the Bison off the board for the first 3:38 and tallied the game's first seven points and never gave up the advantage. Carlos Jürgens drained a 3-pointer on the opening possession and Kevin Obanor scored ORU's next eight points racing out to an 11-6 lead on the road. NDSU weathered the early assault and came back to even the score, 13-13, and again at 16 before the Golden Eagles connected from distance and wrestled control.
 
Max Abmas posted the next eight points of the contest, including back-to-back triples, and ORU used an 11-0 run over a nearly five-minute stretch taking a 27-16 lead capped on an Obanor shot from deep. The Bison were able to get within six, 27-21, but the Golden Eagles fought off every run and took a seven-point cushion into the locker room, 34-27, as Obanor and Abmas combined for 25 points recording 14 and 11 points, respectively, in the half.
 
NDSU cut the margin down to four beginning the second half until Obanor knocked down another triple and Jürgens connected from distance again, this time beating the shot clock, to give ORU a 42-34 advantage. The Bison closed the deficit to four only to have the Golden Eagles use a 7-0 run to build their largest lead of the night, 57-45.
 
After RJ Glasper hit two free throws keeping ORU in front by double digits, 61-51, with six minutes to play, NDSU put together a 10-2 burst to get within striking distance and ignite the home crowd. Abmas quickly silenced the noise draining a 3-pointer in front of the team bench for a 66-61 lead. Kareem Thompson made two free throws with 48 seconds remaining helping the Golden Eagles to an eight-point margin, but the Bison cut that to two. ORU made four free throws in the final six seconds to ice the victory, 80-74.
 
Turning Point
Abmas' 3-pointer at the 3:28 mark of the second half came up clutch snapping the momentum NDSU created during a 10-2 run cutting ORU's lead down to two, 63-61. That shot not only quieted the Scheels Center crowd, but sparked his teammates to finish the weekend split away from home.
 
Individual Leaders
Oral Roberts: Obanor nearly finished his double-double in the first half totaling 14 points and nine rebounds in the frame on his way to his ninth double-double of the campaign. The redshirt junior put together a 23-point, 17-rebound performance.

North Dakota State: Rocky Kreuser paced the Bison scoring 20 points shooting 9-of-17 from the floor.

Inside the Box Score
- Obanor used a dominant first half to record a double-double for the second-straight night in Fargo. He tallied 23 points and finished one rebound shy of his career high pulling down 17, which ended up as half of ORU's 34 rebounds.
 
- Abmas hit five from 3-point range, but more importantly was 6-of-6 at the free-throw line on the way to a game-high 25 points. He added seven rebounds and led the team with four assists.
 
- Jürgens made his second start of the season Saturday and turned in eight points to go with a tenacious effort on the defensive end registering two of the team's four blocks. The redshirt sophomore knocked down two clutch free throws in the final 30 seconds and went 2-of-3 from behind the arc.
 
- RJ Glasper and Francis Lacis provided a much-needed boost in secondary scoring for ORU giving the visitors 10 and eight points, respectively. Kareem Thompson came off the bench and posted six points.
 
News and Notes
- ORU won for the first time at NDSU since Feb. 4, 2012, a span of 3,290 days after dropping the previous seven meetings.
 
- The Golden Eagles held on to the ball all night committing just four turnovers with only one in the second half.
 
- After shooting just two free throws Friday, ORU got to the line 19 times tonight and converted 17 of those to finish 90 percent. The team made 10-consecutive free throws in the final 48 seconds to seal the victory.
 
- ORU never trailed at any point Saturday and played with a lead for 39:05.
                                                          
Up Next
ORU returns home Feb. 13 and 14 taking on Summit League preseason favorite South Dakota State at the Mabee Center live on ORUSN.
 
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.