Late Start Dooms ORU In Loss To LSU

The Oral Roberts men's basketball team fell behind early and could not keep up with the offense of LSU Saturday afternoon at the Maravich Center, falling 100-77 in front of a crowd of more than 10,000.

Kris Martin led the Golden Eagles with a career-high 18 points while Obi Emegnao added 16. Albert Owens added 12 points and a team-high five rebounds.

LSU was powered by their freshman star Ben Simmons, who had 24 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists, leading the Tigers in all three categories. LSU out-rebounded ORU 40-30, including 16 offensive rebounds, six of which were Simmons.   

Turning Point
ORU made a run in the second half and cut it to 14 after a Martin triple, but LSU responded with five straight points to hold off the charge.

Quote of the Game
"They are a very talented team, especially offensively. We have to do some soul-searching. We have to get better and try to correct some things. If guys aren't going to buy in on the defensive end, you are going to see me playing different guys. I'm going to play guys who will at least try to do what we are asking of them." – Coach Scott Sutton

Individual Leaders
Oral Roberts: Martin scored 18 points to lead the ORU offense for the first time in his career. Martin was also the leading assist man with three helpers.
LSU: Simmons continued to be the catalyst for LSU, leading the Tigers in points (24), rebounds (9) and assists (7).

Inside the Box Score
- ORU recovered from a tough start offensively and shot 48.3 percent (28-58) for the game, including a nearly 53-percent clip in the second half (18-34).

- LSU shot 53.7 percent (36-67) for the game and was helped by 26 points off ORU's 15 turnovers.

- ORU started the game 3-11 from the field but hit 7 of its next 12 shots before a half-court attempt at the halftime buzzer. The Golden Eagles were 10-24 (41.7 percent) from the field in the first half.

News and Notes
- Martin set a new career high in scoring with 18 points and led the team in scoring for the first time in his career.

- Saturday marked just the second time this season in which someone other than Emegano has led the team in scoring. Jalen Bradley led the way with 16 points in the season-opener against Missouri State.

- Javan White set a new career high with three blocks, more than doubling his season total from his first three games.

Up Next
The Golden Eagles will close the non-conference schedule with a trip to New Mexico State for a Monday showdown before taking a break for Christmas.