ORU Blows Past Missouri State

The Oral Roberts University men's basketball team was dominant in the second half against Missouri State, blowing the game open with an extended run of 35-4 over a span of nine minutes. With spurts of 19-straight and 16-straight, ORU broke a 37-37 tie and took a 69-41 lead with 9:36 to play.

The 19-point run was the biggest for ORU (4-4) since scoring 20 straight against Houston Baptist January 2, 2014.During the stretch, the Golden Eagles got points from six different players. While it was an Aaron Young 3-pointer that started it, Denell Henderson scored the next six by himself.

The Golden Eagles used a balanced attack in the victory, including 16 from Bobby Word, who led the team in scoring for the second time this season and third time in his career. Adrion Webber had a career-best 15 points, hitting 6-of-8 from the field and 3-5 from long range. Henderson, Young and Obi Emegano each chipped in 12 points. It was a career high for the second game in a row for Young, who is a perfect 5-for-5 from 3-point range in the last two games.

Loomis Gerring led MSU (5-4) with 15 points, while Marcus Marshall added 12. ORU increased the defense on both Bears in the second half, allowing just seven points between them after halftime.

Quote of the Game

“I was most proud of our defense in the first 10 minutes of the second half. I thought we really defended well and we took them out of their stuff. We did a great job all night on (Austin) Ruder. I'm telling you, he is a great shooter so to be able to hold him scoreless was a huge key. He was focus and I thought Aaron Young did a great job on him. This has been a great two games. I don't think we could have asked for anything better than the way we played the past two games and this should certainly give our guys some confidence.” – Coach Scott Sutton.

Turning Point

Tied 37-37, Aaron Young hit a three, followed by six-straight points by Denell Henderson kick-starting a 19-0 ORU run. The Golden Eagles finished the job by putting together another 16-0 spurt to grab a 28 point lead.

Individual Leaders

Oral Roberts: Bobby Word scored 16 points while Adrion Webber dropped in a career-best 15 points. Denell Henderson had eight rebounds, including five offensive boards, and added 12 points.

Missouri State: Loomis Gerring scored a team-best 15 points while Marcus Marshall added 12. Tyler McCullough led the Bears in rebounding with six boards.

Inside the Box Score

- ORU connected on a season high 10 3-pointers. It was the most since hitting 10 3-pointers was against Texas State (Nov. 16, 2013).The last time ORU hit 11 treys was against St. Gregory's November 14, 2012.

- The Golden Eagles shared the basketball well to the tune of 17 assists on 28 made field goals. The 17 assists were the most this season for ORU and the most since earning 17 helpers at Houston Baptist February 13, 2014.

- For the second game in a row, ORU found its spark offensively in the second half. The Golden Eagles hit 53 percent (16-30) of their shots in the second half en route to 48 points.

- ORU out-rebounded the Bears by a count of 35-31. Each team had nine offensive rebounds, but ORU turned them into a 14-6 edge in second chance points.

- Starters Korey Billbury (4 points) and Brandon Conley (0 points) were held in check, but the ORU bench made up the difference, scoring 40 points, 31 of which came from Word and Webber.

- MSU hit just 30 percent (8-26) in the second half and shot 39 percent (22-56) for the game.

- ORU dominated the paint with a 30-12 advantage around the basket.

News & Notes

- After falling behind 9-4 early on, ORU mounted a 7-0 run to take its first lead of the game 11-9 at the 14:44 mark.

- A 10-3 run gave MSU a 33-29 lead until Bobby Word hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to get ORU to within one at the break. It marked the second game in a row and third game this year in which ORU has trailed at the half.

- A huge second-half run that spanned 5:57 and saw the Golden Eagles score 19 straight points took the game from a 37-37 tie to a 53-37 ORU advantage. It was the biggest run for ORU since scoring 20-straight against Houston Baptist to start the 2013-14 conference season.

- Of the 11 Golden Eagles who saw the court, 10 scored at least two points.

- ORU had five double-figure scorers for the first time since doing so against Central Arkansas February 19, 2013.

- The Golden Eagles are now unbeaten at home in their last seven home games, dating back to January 24, 2014.

Up Next

A quick turnaround, ORU will travel to Norman to take on the Sooners tomorrow night at 6 p.m. in a contest that will be televised on ESPNU.