Box Score | Season Stats | 2023-24 Schedule
 
The Basics
Score: Oral Roberts 87 – South Dakota State 82
Record: ORU (10-11, 4-4) – SDSU (12-10, 5-2)
Location: Tulsa, Okla. (Mabee Center) 
 
TULSA, Okla. – DeShang Weaver shot 60 percent from the field for a career high 32 points Saturday evening as the Oral Roberts men's basketball team defeated first place South Dakota State, 87-82, at the Mabee Center.

In front of a crowd of 6,914 in attendance, four Golden Eagles scored in double figures as three others joined Weaver having double-digit outings. It was Weaver's sixth 20-plus point game of his career. Issac McBride had his 19^th double-digit game of the season and 62^nd of his career with 19 points Saturday. Jailen Bedford added 12 points on the night and Kareem Thompson had 10.
 
To start the game, Thompson scored the first bucket, which was a three to give ORU an early lead. SDSU would then recover and tie the game before a quick 5-0 sprint by ORU gave them the lead again. The lead was highlighted by an offensive rebound followed by an and one by Sir Issac Herron. After a short lead by SDSU, ORU would then retake the lead and would spark an 8-0 run to get up by seven with 11:08 left in the first. Weaver hit his third three-pointer of the run to extend it to 11-0 and give ORU a 10 point lead. After SDSU came back and cut the lead to five, Bedford nailed back-to-back three's to go back up by double-digits. SDSU managed an 8-0 run to bring it back to within three, but Weaver continued to stay hot an hit consecutive long balls to make it a nine point lead. McBride scored on the final possession to send the Golden Eagles to halftime up, 37-26. Weaver led with 17 first half points going 6-for-12 overall and 5-for-10 from three-point range as the team shot 41 percent. ORU is now 7-1 this season when leading at halftime.
 
ORU ended the first half on an 8-0 run and looked to continue the scoring effort and would continue it to a 12-0 run to lead by 15. The Jacks then scored and 11-0 run to cut it to a two point game, before Weaver made his seventh three of the game to push it back to a five point contest. With 10 minutes left in the game, ORU held a 58-50 lead. After a three by Phipps, ORU went back up by 15 with 6:20 to go, before the Jacks cut it to eight just a minute and a half later. With 1:34 left, the Golden Eagles held a 79-73 lead as SDSU pressed defensively. The Jacks would cut it to four, three times and eventually got as close as three in the final seconds. ORU would stay strong at the free-throw line and end the game with an 82-78 victory of the league leaders in what would be the biggest win of the Russell Springmann era so far.  
 
Both teams scored 50-plus points in the second half as it proved to be a shootout in the final 20 minutes. ORU gave fans a show scoring 14 three-pointers, the third most in a game this season and second most at home. McBride had six assists in his stat line giving the senior 11 assists in the past two game. He went 11-for-11 from the free-throw line against SDSU. This weekend he went a perfect 19-for-19 from the charity stripe.

Individual Leaders
Oral Roberts: Weaver recorded a career high 32 points and Thompson had nine rebounds.
 
South Dakota State: Zeke Mayo led SDSU with 23 points and William Kyle III grabbed nine boards.

Inside the Box Score/News & Notes
- ORU shot 42.4 percent from the three-point line.
 
- ORU shot 45.2 percent from the field.

- The Golden Eagles had 15 assists on 28 made baskets.

- Oral Roberts had 26 points in the paint and eight bench points.

- ORU forced SDSU to 10 turnovers and scored 18 points off those takeaways.
 
- Weaver's 32 points were a career high.

- McBride has now had back-to-back games shooting perfect from the free-throw line.

- The 14 three-pointers were the third most in a game for ORU this season and second most at home.

- The Golden Eagles are now 7-1 on the season when leading at halftime.
 
- By scoring 50 points in the second 20 minutes, it's the second time this season the Golden Eagles have scored 50 or more in the second half.

Up Next
Oral Roberts will play Denver Saturday, February 3 at the Mabee Center for Hall of Fame Night at 7 p.m.

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.