Box Score | Season Stats | 2023-24 Schedule
 
The Basics
Score: Oral Roberts 82 – Montana State 76
Record: ORU (7-7, 1-1) – MSU (6-8, 1-1)
Location: Bozeman, Mont. (Worthington Arena)
 
BOZEMAN, Mont. – After traveling almost 1,400 miles, the Oral Roberts men's basketball team won their second-consecutive road game with an 82-76 victory at Montana State Wednesday evening in Bozeman, Montana.
 
Four Golden Eagles scoring in double figures Wednesday with Jailen Bedford leading the way with 23 points for his third 20-plus point game of the season. Bedford led all scorers in part by hitting a career high 10 free-throws by going a perfect 10-for-10 from the line. Overall, he went 6-for-10 from the field and 1-for-2 from three-point range in what led to ORU's 52 percent shooting night.
 
After scoring the first bucket of the game, ORU went down, 7-2, before a 5-0 swing to the contest. ORU did go back down by five, but managed to take a two point lead with 10 minutes left in the first with a bucket by Ashton Smith. With eight minutes to go, Montana State retook the lead by one with a three-point shot, the Bobcats' fourth at that point. The Golden Eagles went on a two-plus minute scoring drought before Issac McBride hit a free-throw to tie the game, 22-22. With five minutes to go, Montana State managed a four point lead after a three went in on a deflection by Thompson. Oral Roberts was able to then tie the game, 33-33, with 2:14 left on the clock, but went on a scoring drought the remainder of the half, and a three by MSU, put the Bobcats up 36-33 at the break. ORU shot 48 percent from the field in the first and Bedford led the team with 10 points.  
 
ORU scored in the opening possession of the second half as the Golden Eagles went up by three early. Montana State tied it, 42-42, before ORU retook the lead on the next play. The Bobcats took a 50-46 lead with 12:45 left until Trey Phipps nailed his second three of the game. Jailen Bedford followed up with a three on the next possession to give Oral Roberts the lead back. With 10 minutes to go, ORU trailed 59-56 until Bedford sank two free-throws to pull the Golden Eagles to within one. At the under eight timeout, it was found that a three made by MSU was a two-point shot and changed, which effectively tied the game, 60-60. The Golden Eagles came out and hit three of four from the charity stripe after two technical free-throws and one-and-one foul shots. After ORU had a four point lead with five minutes, MSU tied the game for the 17^th time. The Golden Eagles took another three point lead with four minutes to play. ORU would then stretch the lead to eight with three minutes to go that was a part of an 8-0 run. MSU would bring it within four with one minute on the clock. After an inadvertent whistle that gave the ball to the Bobcats, MSU hit a three-pointer to make it a one point game with under a minute. On the next possession Phipps hit his third three of the game to put the game back to four. ORU would hold on and free-throws down the stretch by Bedford gave ORU the 82-76 win.
 
McBride had his fifth-consecutive double-digit night in the win in Montana scoring 19, despite dealing with some foul trouble. Phipps and Thompson each added 11 points as Phipps went 3-for-4 from long range. The Golden Eagles scoring 49 points in the second half, the most in a division one game this season.

Individual Leaders
Oral Roberts: Bedford scored 23 points and Thompson grabbed eight rebounds.  
 
Montana State: Brandon Walker had 20 points and Robert Ford III had a double-double with 16 points and 10 boards.

Inside the Box Score/News & Notes
- ORU shot 50 percent from the three-point line.
 
- ORU shot 52 percent from the field.

- The Golden Eagles had nine assists on 26 made baskets.

- Oral Roberts had 28 points in the paint and 12 bench points.

- ORU forced MSU to 15 turnovers and scored seven points off those takeaways.
 
- The Golden Eagles were one of four Summit League teams to claim wins in the first night of the Summit League/Big Sky Challenge. Denver, Omaha and St. Thomas were also victorious.  
 
- ORU shot 85.2 percent from the free-throw line, its second best free-throw percentage in a division-one game this season.  

- It was the third time this season the Golden Eagles had shot 50-plus percent from the field.

Up Next
ORU will head home to face Weber State in the second game of the Summit League/Big Sky Challenge Saturday, January 6 at 7 p.m. It will be Bracket Buster night and ORU fans can get FREE tickets by visiting www.oruathletics.com/freetickets
 
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.