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The Basics
Score: Oral Roberts 84 – Kansas City 72
Record: ORU (12-6, 6-1) - KC (8-7, 2-2)
Location: Kansas City, Mo. (Swinney Center)
 
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Oral Roberts men's basketball team capped off a three-game road trip with an 84-72 victory against the Kansas City Roos Saturday evening in Kansas City, Missouri.
 
Max Abmas etched his name in the ORU record book Saturday as the junior moved to No. 10 in all-time points scored after his 26 points at Kansas City. Abmas now has 1,527 career points as he is the second player in ORU basketball history to make it in to the top 10 in just three seasons after Greg Sutton.
 
As the game got started, ORU got a defensive stop and the first bucket of the game. The Golden Eagles took an early eight point lead as Kareem Thompson hit a three-pointer with 9:11 left in the first half. Kansas City went on a 7-0 run to pull to within one with five minutes left. ORU went back up by four before KC pulled back to within one with 1:30 to go. Thompson then hit his second triple of the game to make it a 36-32 ball game at the half. The close score resulted in both teams shooting 40-plus percent in the opening 20 minutes.
 
Abmas got ORU going in the second half with back-to-back three-point jumpers to extend the Golden Eagle lead. Thompson hit his third three of the game and the Golden Eagles took an 11 point lead with 17 minutes to go. Kansas City then went on a 7-0 run to pull back to within four, three minutes later. Kansas City took its first lead of the game, by one, with nine minutes to play. The lead was short lived as Abmas hit consecutive three-point buckets followed by a jumper by Issac McBride to put the team up by seven. ORU extended its run to 15-1, 18-4, as the Golden Eagles went up by as much as 13 with less than two minutes remaining. Phipps knocked down two free-throws to end the game with an 84-72 advantage.
 
Abmas led all scorers with his fifth consecutive 20-plus point night. McBride (11), Phipps (14), Thompson (15) and DeShang Weaver (10) made it a total of five ORU players to score in double-figures. As a whole, ORU shot 17-for-34 from three-point range for 50 percent.
 
Turning Point
After Kansas City took a one point lead with 9:45 to play, ORU then went on a 15-1, 18-4 run to go up by as much as 13 to end with a 12 point win.      

Individual Leaders
Oral Roberts: Abmas ended the night with 26 points and Elijah Lufile grabbed 10 rebounds.

Kansas City: Marvin Nesbitt captured 19 points and nine rebounds.

Inside the Box Score
- The Golden Eagles scored 14 points in the paint. ORU's bench production secured 29 points.
 
- ORU 45.6 percent from the field and 50 percent from beyond the arc.
 
- Kansas City shot 43.3 percent overall and 33.3 percent from long range.
 
- ORU out-rebounded KC, 39-28. The Golden Eagles secured nine offensive rebounds.
 
News and Notes
- For his 14th consecutive game, Abmas had 10-plus points. He has now scored 20-plus points in five-consecutive outings. It was his 11th 20-plus point game of the season.
 
- Abmas' 26 points moved him to No. 10 in all-time scoring at ORU. He is the second ORU player to move in to the top 10 in three seasons played.


- The Golden Eagles have now won five-straight and claimed victory in 16 for their last 17 against Kansas City.
 
- ORU has made 10-plus three-point buckets in 15 of its last 18 games.

Up Next
ORU will be back in action at the Mabee Center Thursday, January 20 at 7 p.m. against the North Dakota Fighting Hawks. This will be the first home game for the Golden Eagles in 20 days.

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.