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The Basics
Score: Oral Roberts 82 – Denver 76
Record: ORU (11-11, 5-4) – DU (13-11, 4-5)
Location: Tulsa, Okla. (Mabee Center)
 
TULSA, Okla. – On ORU's annual Hall of Fame Night, the men's basketball team defeated the Denver Pioneers, 82-76, Saturday evening at the Mabee Center.
 
In what was one of the most intense games that has been played inside the Mabee Center, the Golden Eagles shined as three scored in double-digits and the defense held the nation's leading scorer below average. Issac McBride captured a career high 34 Saturday evening to lead all scorers as he scored his second 30-plus point game of his career and of the season. His previous career high was 30 points and came earlier this season at North Dakota.
 
Oral Roberts jumped out of the gate strong and went on a 10-0 run to get things going. Denver didn't score its first points until four-plus minutes into the game. The Golden Eagles would extend their lead to 18 by leading 24-6 with 11:22 left in the first half as McBride was responsible for 10 points at that time. As ORU led by nine with 5:43 left in the first, Denver's Tommy Bruner would hit back-to-back threes to bring his team to within three before the final media timeout of the opening half. ORU would spark a 10-1 run to lead by as much as 13 when Jailen Bedford nailed a three with 22 seconds to go. After a foul by ORU on a three-point shot, Denver hit all three free-throws and the Golden Eagles took a 44-34 lead into halftime. McBride scored 21 points in the first half to lead all scorers as ORU shot 61.3 percent from the field going 5-for-9 from three-point range.
 
The Pioneers kept fighting and would claw their way back to eventually tie the game just three minutes into the second half. It was a part of a bigger 24-4 run that would give Denver a 10 point lead with 15:15 on the clock. The second half continued on and both teams kept battling as ORU would then go on an 8-1 run to only trail by three. After that point, Denver would never lead by more than six again. AS ORU was down by four with 6:09 to go, Bedford hit another three and made it a one point game. Sir Issac Herron, who went 7-for-7 on the night, came up big with a bucket to give ORU a one point lead with 4:06 left. Denver would regain the lead one more time with 3:52 and lead by one before DeShang Weaver hit a clutch three-pointer to lift the Golden Eagles up by two with 3:41 on the clock. As Denver began to press, ORU was able to capitalize to lead by five with 34 seconds to go. After a defensive stop, Trey Phipps entered the game and hit two free-throws to put his team up by seven with 27 seconds left. The Pioneers would pull back to within four, but free-throws kept ORU ahead and the defense got its final stop with 11 seconds to go and the Golden Eagles would win the game, 82-76. The win brought ORU back to 500 overall on the season and a 5-4 league record to be tied for third and one game out of first.
 
Along with McBride, Bedford scored 16 on the night which was his third-straight double-digit outing and 17^th of his career/season. Herron would also have a career high with 14 points after being perfect from the field. It's the most field-goals made (7) of his career as well.

Individual Leaders
Oral Roberts: McBride had 34 points on the night and Bedford pulled down nine rebounds.
 
Denver: Tommy Bruner scored 22 points and Touko Tainamo grabbed seven boards.

Inside the Box Score/News & Notes
- ORU shot 44.4 percent from the three-point line.
 
- ORU shot 53.6 percent from the field.

- The Golden Eagles had 15 assists on 30 made baskets.

- Oral Roberts had 44 points in the paint and four bench points.

- ORU forced DU to 16 turnovers and scored 20 points off those takeaways.
 
- McBride's 34 were a career high. He went 10-for-18 overall, 4-for-6 from three-point range and 10-for-11 from the free-throw line.

- Herron was perfect (7-for-7) from the field for a career high 14 points.

- In back-to-back games, ORU has had a 30-plus point scorer.

- The Golden Eagles are now 8-1 on the season when leading at halftime.
 
- ORU is now one game out of first and tied for third in the latest Summit League standings.  

Up Next
The Golden Eagles will hit the road to play at St. Thomas Thursday, February 8 at 7 p.m. in St. Paul, Minnesota.

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.