Golden Eagles Suffer Road Loss To SDSU

Led by its two seniors, the Oral Roberts men's basketball team threatened to snap South Dakota State's home winning streak, but the Golden Eagles came up short in a 73-65 loss Saturday afternoon.

ORU got 22 points and six rebounds from Obi Emegano and 15 points from Brandon Conley as the senior duo combined for 37 points and 10 of ORU's 24 rebounds. Jalen Bradley dished out four assists.

Led by Mike Daum's 20 points, the Jackrabbits stretched their home winning streak to 29 games and claimed a share of the Summit League championship with the win. Reed Tellinghuisen added 15 points and six rebounds, while George Marshall scored 13. The Jackrabbits out-rebounded ORU 32-24.

Turning Point
ORU cut it to a six-point game but a layup by Devin Moffitt and a 3-pointer by Deondre Parks made it 11 with less than two minutes to play and there was too much ground to make up for the Golden Eagles.

Quote of the Game
"I thought we competed, especially the second half. We just didn't do the little things that have cost us all year and they cost us tonight. Maybe the two biggest things that hurt us were the two offensive rebounds late. Those are the little things that add up. If you are going to win a tough game, which this was a tough game and every game we play in Sioux Falls is going to be a tough game, you have to do the little things to be successful but I do feel better. I thought our guys competed defensively the second half." – Coach Scott Sutton.

Individual Leaders
Oral Roberts: Emegano led ORU in scoring (22) and rebounding (6). Bradley led the way in assists and DaQuan Jeffries blocked two shots.
South Dakota St.: Daum's 20 points led the offense, while Tellinghuisen and Daum each grabbed six rebounds.

Inside the Box Score
- ORU shot 24-52 (46 percent) from the field and 4-11 (36 percent) from 3-point range. The Golden Eagles hit 13-16 (81 percent) from the free throw line.

- SDSU hit 28-54 (52 percent) from the field and 4-15 (26.7 percent) from long range. SDSU was 13-15 (86.7 percent) from the free throw line.

- The Jackrabbits out-rebounded ORU 32-24, the biggest rebounding deficit since the first meeting against SDSU.

- ORU led in points off turnovers 13-9 and had the only two fast break points in the game.

- SDSU led in points in the paint 32-30 and second-chance points 14-7.

News and Notes
- Emegano has led ORU in scoring in each of the last 11 games, all of which he has scored at least 20 points.

- Emegano now has 654 points this season and moved ahead of Mark Acres for the 10th best scoring season in ORU history.

- Conley scored in double figures for the 11th time this season and the 19th time in his career.

- Bradley's four assists were the most for the junior since notching four against South Dakota in the second game of Summit League play. It is the fifth time he's had four helpers and only once has he had more.

- The eight point loss was the closest decision for either team at Frost Arena since ORU won 90-82 January 8, 2011.

Up Next
ORU will head to the Summit League tournament in Sioux Falls. ORU's seed and first round opponent will be determined by the South Dakota/Western Illinois game that tips off at 7 p.m.