Oral Roberts 86, S. Utah 66

Friday, February 18th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

TULSA, Okla. (AP) -- Derrick Taylor scored 26 of his game-high 27 points in the second half Thursday night to rally Oral Roberts past Southern Utah, 86-66. Southern Utah (13-11, 9-5 Mid-Continent) led 55-50 with 12 minutes remaining before Taylor took over. He scored eight points in a 12-0 run that lifted the Golden Eagles (11-13, 7-5) into a 62-55 lead with 8:23 to play. Oral Roberts outscored the Thunderbirds 10-0 in the final 2:33 to seal the victory.

Taylor, who had been bothered recently by a deep heel bruise, finished 9-of-16 from the field and 9-of-13 from the line with seven rebounds in 28 minutes coming off the bench. Nathan Binam, Eric Perry and Reggie Tate scored 16 points a piece for ORU, which snapped a two-game losing streak. Tate had nine rebounds and Perry contributed eight assists. Jeff Monaco paced the Thunderbirds with 14 points and Jim Faulkner had 10, but the pair combined for only three points in the second half.