ORU Men Down Anteaters, Advance To CIT Quarterfinals

Oral Roberts men's hoops refuses to go quietly into the night.

Steven Roundtree scored 21 points and hauled in 13 rebounds Monday night to lead the Golden Eagles (20-14) to a 76-62 win over UC Irvine and into the quarterfinals of the CIT.

Shawn Glover added 16 points and six boards as ORU secured its seventh 20-win campaign in nine years.

The Golden Eagles exploded out of the gate, jumping to a 20-7 lead by the eight-minute mark of the first half. After the Anteaters' Michael Wilder nailed a 3-pointer to cut the lead to 20-10, ORU put together another strong burst. Glover hit two jumpers to aid the Eagles' 8-2 run and with 4:33 left in the first half, Oral Roberts held a 28-12 advantage.

ORU took a 34-23 lead into the break but clearly wasn't satisfied. The Eagles opened the second half with a quick 6-0 run to open the score up to 40-23 and squash any hopes the Anteaters had of making a comeback.

Damen Bell-Holter added 10 points, six boards and four blocks for ORU while D.J. Jackson chipped in 11 points off the bench. The Eagles shot just 42.6 percent from the floor, including 1-12 from 3-point range, but out-rebounded the Anteaters 38-28 and held a whopping 30-14 advantage in free-throw attempts (made 24 of 30).

Next up for ORU is a date with Weber State (28-6) in a rematch of the Eagles' senior night loss on Feb. 23. The Wildcats took that contest 70-66.