Oral Roberts Tops Southern Utah Without Luper

The Oral Roberts Golden Eagles erased an 11-point halftime deficit to knock off the Southern Utah Eagles 54-47 Saturday to close out the regular season of Summit League play.

The Eagles closed out the first half with six consecutive points, including a buzzer-beating putback by Carli Moreland, to take a 33-22 lead into the locker room.

Oral Roberts started the half with a quick five points, closing the deficit to five points, part of a larger 12-2 run capped by a Georgia Jones three-pointer to close the lead to 35-34 10 minutes into the half. Southern Utah converted on a three-point play to stop the bleeding, but ORU scored back-to-back buckets to tie the game 38-38.

Carli Moreland hit a layup to retake the lead for the Eagles, but ORU scored seven consecutive to take a 45-40 lead. Southern Utah hit a pair of free throws to respond, but ORU outscored them 9-5 over the closing two minutes to close the game.

Jones set the pace for the Golden Eagles, scoring 14 points and grabbing five rebounds, while both Bernadett Balla and Jaci Bingham both contributed 11 points in the win.

Oral Roberts was already locked in for the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament, but gives the Golden Eagles momentum heading into the championship tourney, which begins Saturday March 3.