Niles’s 29 Points Leads Golden Eagles Past Thunderbirds

Golden Eagles look for their third-straight win after sweeping past the Southern Utah State Thunderbirds, 87-71.

Thursday, May 26th 2011, 12:09 pm

By: News On 6

Niles’s 29 Points Leads Golden Eagles Past Thunderbirds

Originally Published: Jan 13, 2011 10:31 PM CDT

Stephany Speck
Oklahoma Sports Staff Writer

TULSA, Oklahoma -- The Oral Roberts Golden Eagles improved to 7-12 on the season Thursday, after beating Southern Utah State 87-71.

Warren Niles led all scorers with 29 points, while teammate Damen Bell-Holter contributed 19. Niles also recorded seven rebounds and two assists, while Bell-Holter added seven boards.

Niles was just one point shy of this third career 30-point game. He hit all nine free throw attempts, seven of his 18 shots from the field and went 6-of-13 from the three-point range.

The Golden Eagles took the lead at half, 39-34, after Niles hit a three as the final second ticked off the clock. The second half opened with an 11-point run for ORU from Niles, extending the lead to 50-38.

The Thunderbirds battled back, narrowing the Golden Eagles’ lead to just nine points with less than seven minutes to go, but ORU managed to pull ahead again.

The Thunderbirds were led by Jackson Stevenett, who had a 22-point game, adding eight rebounds. Matt Hodgson put up 13 points, while teammates Jake Nielson and Ray Jones both recorded six assists each.

Oral Roberts shot just under 50 percent from the field and 47.8 percent from the three-point range. The Golden Eagles next host UMKC Jan. 15 at 7:05 p.m.