TULSA, Okla. – Freshman guard Boden Williams scored 22 points, but the Oral Roberts men's basketball team fell to Tulsa, 80-71, Wednesday night in the 61st edition of the Mayor's Cup at the Reynolds Center. The Golden Eagles fall to 1-2, and Tulsa improves to 3-0.
ORU led for most of the first half including a 12-point lead with 5:20 left in the opening frame. Williams scored 15 first-half points on 6-of-8 shooting, including three three-pointers, as ORU shot 43.3 percent and made six of its 13 threes to take a 39-37 lead at halftime. Luke Gray added 17 points, and Cal Furnish had 10 points, six rebounds and five assists. Thomas Zorbas scored 10 off the bench, including four of four at the line.
Tulsa took the lead early in the second half and outscored ORU 43-32 over the final 20 minutes. The Golden Hurricane shot 48.1 percent after halftime and went 13-of-18 at the line, while the Golden Eagles shot 10-of-34 (29.4 percent) in the second half. Tulsa pushed its lead to 14 with just over four minutes left. Jaylen Lawal and Denton Forsythe each scored 18 for Tulsa, and Chris Loofe had 17 points and 11 rebounds.
Tulsa outscored ORU 26-13 on fast-break points and 32-22 in the paint, outrebounded the Golden Eagles 43-32, and shot 23-of-28 at the free-throw line to ORU's 15-of-22. ORU committed 18 turnovers to Tulsa's 20. Connor Dow had three steals and two blocks in his season debut.
Game Notes:
- Williams scored a season-high 22 points on 8-of-13 shooting, including 5-of-8 from three, after scoring eight and 10 in the first two games.
- Gray scored 17 points, his third straight game in double figures.
- Furnish had 10 points, six rebounds and five assists.
- Zorbas scored 10 points off the bench on 3-of-5 shooting and 4-of-4 at the line.
- ORU led 39-37 at halftime and had a 12-point lead in the first half.
- The Golden Eagles shot 6-of-13 on three-pointers in the first half and 4-of-19 in the second.
- The game had four lead changes and was tied five times.
- Tulsa leads the Mayor's Cup series 39-22, and ORU has lost three straight in the series.
Up Next:
The Golden Eagles return home to face Oklahoma City on Saturday (Nov. 14) at the Mabee Center for Homecoming. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.
For the latest information on ORU men's basketball, follow @ORUMBB on X, Instagram, and Facebook or go to www.ORUAthletics.com.
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