Niles' 25 Leads ORU To First Postseason Win In Nearly 40 Years

Free throws down the stretch proved the difference as ORU broke an 11-game postseason losing streak with an 84-76 victory at UT Arlington, Wednesday night in the first round of the CIT.

The Golden Eagles had a 20-point lead trimmed to seven late in the game but hit 12 free throws in the final three minutes to secure its first postseason victory since the 1974-75 season.

Warren Niles led the way with 24 points as the Golden Eagles improved to 19-14 on the year. Four of the five starters for ORU scored in double figures, including 18 points for Shawn Glover, 15 for Damen Bell-Holter and a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds for Steven Roundtree.

ORU shot 49 percent (25-51) for the game and out-rebounded the Mavs 42-34, using that to a 21-15 edge in second chance points.

"This was a good win," said Coach Scott Sutton. "We were terrific for the first 35 minutes or so. I thought the first five minutes of the second half were huge for us. This is a team who can come back in a hurry because of how they play. I knew they were very capable of making a comeback and I thought our guys did a good job of keeping them at a distance. This is how I envisioned this team being able to play."

ORU will await its next opponent after the conclusion of CIT play on Wednesday.