CONWAY, Ark. – Junior forward Luke Gray scored a career-high 22 points to lead the Oral Roberts men's basketball team, but Central Arkansas used a 47-point first half to beat the Golden Eagles 85-55 on Monday night at the Farris Center in the season opener.
UCA never trailed in the game. ORU tied the game at 3-3 on a Boden Williams three-pointer and at 5-5 on a Gray layup, but the Bears answered with a 10-0 run to lead 15-5. Gray scored 13 first-half points, going 5-of-10 from the field and 3-of-5 at the line, including dunks with 8:51 and 1:10 left in the half. Central Arkansas led 47-31 at halftime.
The Bears pushed the lead to 30 in the second half. Gray added nine points after the break, passing his previous career high of 20 with a layup with 3:45 left and finishing with a free throw. He finished 8-of-13 from the field and 6-of-9 at the line, with four rebounds, an assist and a steal in 26 minutes. Cal Furnish added 11 points, including three three-pointers, and Williams had eight.
UCA shot 45.2 percent, led by Ty Robinson's 29 points and Harrison Beauchamp's 15. ORU shot 30.0 percent from the field and went 6-of-36 from three. The Bears scored 26 points off ORU's 18 turnovers and outscored the Golden Eagles 29-10 off the bench. ORU outrebounded the Bears 42-41.
Game Notes:
- Gray's 22 points set a new career high, topping his previous best of 20 at Kansas City last season and were a game high for ORU.
- Furnish made 3 of 6 three-pointers and scored 11 points.
- All nine newcomers made their ORU debuts. Williams started and scored eight points, and Jamal George had four points and two assists.
- Redshirt freshman Alex Couto made his debut and scored five points.
- ORU shot 7-of-25 in the second half.
- The Golden Eagles fall to 1-4 all-time at Central Arkansas, and the all-time series is now 5-4 in favor of the Golden Eagles.
- ORU has lost its last four season openers.
- The Golden Eagles and Bears will meet again this season, Dec. 19 at the Mabee Center.
Up Next:
The Golden Eagles play their home opener Saturday (Nov. 7) against Northwestern Oklahoma State at the Mabee Center in Tulsa. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.
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