ORU Tops Richmond, 87-72

Free throws down the stretch helped the Oral Roberts men's basketball team distance itself from Richmond Friday afternoon at the Mabee Center as the Golden Eagles topped the Spiders 87-72.

ORU improved to 4-1 at home this season thanks to a trio of double figure scorers, led by Jalen Bradley's 22 points. Albert Owens scored 19 and Kris Martin added 17 points to lead the ORU offense that topped 80 points for the fourth time this year. Darian Harris dished out a career high five assists to help the Golden Eagle cause. ORU and Richmond each grabbed 38 rebounds, with Owens and Bradley leading the way with six boards apiece, while Emmanuel Nzekwesi, Anderson and Harris each grabbed five rebounds. 

Richmond was led by T.J. Cline, who scored 25 points, grabbed 14 rebounds and tied ShonDre' Jones for a team high six assists.   

Quote of the Game

"That was a good Christmas present. Our guys took another step in the right direction and we beat a very good team and a very well coached team that was hard to defend. They are good at running their stuff and have two guys who can really play. I thought the second half we came out and defended like we did Monday night and like we did against Creighton and that was a good sign. I'm pleased with the win but even more pleased with how we played the second half." – Coach Scott Sutton

Turning Point

Bradley scored and drew the foul to put ORU up seven with 2:53 to play and the Golden Eagles hit free throws down the stretch to keep the lead on the Spiders.

Individual Leaders

Oral Roberts: Bradley scored 22 points, grabbed six rebounds and dished out three assists for ORU. Harris had a career high five assists.
Richmond: Cline did a little of everything for the Spiders, tallying team highs in points (25), rebounds (14), assists (6) and steals (3).

Inside the Box Score

- ORU shot 47 percent (26-55) for the game including a 52 percent clip (13-25) in the second half. ORU hit 35 percent (7-20) from 3-point range and 70 percent (28-40) from the free throw line.

- Richmond shot 41 percent (27-66) for the game but connected on just 8.7 percent (2-23) from 3-point range, including a 0-12 mark in the second half. The Spiders went 16-22 (72 percent) from the free throw line.

- ORU turned Richmond over 14 times and held a 22-9 advantage in points off turnovers, and for the third game in a row the ORU bench outscored its opponent, holding a 19-14 edge on Friday.

News and Notes
- 16 of ORU's final 18 points of the game came at the free throw line in the final 3:37 as ORU took a 3-point game and swelled the lead to 15. ORU was 16-19 from the charity stripe during that stretch.

- ORU's opponents have shot just 2-38 (5 percent) from 3-point range in the last two games.

- The Golden Eagles swatted four shots, including two from Martin, the most since rejecting four shots against Michigan State and the second most this season.

- ORU started and ended the game with 7-0 runs, the longest streaks of the contest.

Up Next 

ORU will take a break to celebrate Christmas before beginning Summing League play December 28 at Denver.