Oral Roberts Fall On The Road Against Nebraska

Oral Roberts University fought hard until the final whistle but could not overcome Nebraska on Thursday night at the Devaney Center in an 80-67 loss to the Cornhuskers. Kevi Luper led the Golden Eagles (3-6) with 22 points.

Nebraska (9-3) led the contest at the halftime break, 44-20, before ORU won the second half, 47-36.

Jordan Hooper paced the Cornhuskers with 33 points on the night, including five three-point field goals. Lindsey Moore added 15 points and eight assists.

Luper wasn't the only Golden Eagle to shine offensively. Bernadett Balla poured in 17 points, while Jaci Bigham and Christian Key each scored nine. All nine of Key's points came in the second half.

Taylor Cooper led the Golden Eagles with nine rebounds, matching a career high.

Hooper came out of the gates hot, scoring the first seven points of the game. Her first three-pointer of the night gave the Huskers a 7-0 lead at the 17:21 mark.

ORU came back with a mini-rally. A Luper basket cut Nebraska's lead to 13-10 with 12:58 to play.

But the Golden Eagles would not keep pace with Nebraska for long. The home team scored the next ten points, with a Moore jumper pushing the advantage to 23-10 at the 8:28 mark. The Huskers closed the half on a 9-1 run to build a 24-point halftime lead.

Hooper led all scorers with 22 points at the break.

ORU came alive offensively midway through the second half. A Bigham runner at the 7:58 mark ended an 11-4 ORU rally and cut Nebraska's edge to 69-47.

Later, the Golden Eagles scored eight straight points, with Key draining a three-ball to make the score 77-61 with 3:10 left.

ORU scored the game's final six points and ended the game down by 13 after trailing by as much as 30 early in the second half.

Nebraska entered the game ranked 21st in the USA Today Coaches' Poll, handing ORU their 41st straight loss against a ranked opponent.

ORU plays their final non-conference game of the regular season on Friday, Dec. 28, when they take on Big East foe DePaul. Tipoff in Chicago is scheduled for 7 pm CT.