ORU Gives Up Halftime Lead, Loses To South Dakota

Up two at the break, the Oral Roberts men's basketball team gave up 52 second-half points and the lead in a 94-84 loss to South Dakota Sunday night at the Mabee Center.

Despite not having the nation's eighth-leading scorer in Obi Emegano due to concussion symptoms, the Golden Eagles put up 84 points and shot 52 percent (27-52) for the game. Led by DaQuan Jeffries'career high 18 points, ORU had four double-figure scorers. Aaron Anderson scored 11 and led the way with seven rebounds and six assists. 

ORU's downfall was 22 turnovers, the most of the season.

South Dakota got 22 points from Tre Burnette and 20 points from Casey Kasperbauer as the Coyotes shot 52.2 percent (36-69) from the field.  

Turning Point
An 18-4 USD spurt to start the second half was more than the Golden Eagles could overcome.

Quote of the Game
"It was a disappointing performance to say the least. This was a game we had to win and we had to play with a sense of urgency and we didn't. I take full responsibility. It is my job to get these guys prepared to play and to play at a level that we expect them to play at and we aren't getting it done right now." - Coach Scott Sutton

Individual Leaders
Oral Roberts: Jeffries had a career high 18 points on a 7-10 shooting effort. Aaron Anderson matched his season best with six assists and also added a team-high seven rebounds.
South Dakota: Burnette was 10-18 from the field for 22 points and also led the Coyotes with six rebounds.

Inside the Box Score
- After trailing by as many as eight in the first half, ORU mounted an 11-0 run to take a 3-point lead. The Golden Eagles would extend that lead to as many as six in the frame.

- South Dakota scored the final bucket of the first half, and then out-scored ORU 18-4 over the first five minutes of the second half to take a 60-48 lead, their largest of the game.

- The 52 percent from the field from the Golden Eagles was the third highest of the season, trailing only  the games against Detroit (53.6 percent) and Tabor (52.9 percent).

News and Notes
- Emegano's streak of 48 consecutive games started came to an end Sunday as the senior did not play due to concussion symptoms. Jalen Bradley, who has started every game this season, now holds the longest active streak for ORU at 16 games.