For the second time in a matter of weeks, Oral Roberts players and students celebrated at midcourt of the Mabee Center Saturday night after a Mayor’s Cup victory.
Also, for the second time, a late run by the Golden Eagles was the difference.
After Tulsa had taken a two-point lead with under 7 minutes to play, the Golden Eagles answered with a 15-2 run to claim a 79-70 victory in front of a home crowd of 6,949 in the annual series.
Just last month, the ORU women closed with an 18-2 run to defeat Tulsa in the Mayor’s Cup.
Oral Roberts Golden Eagles guard Issac McBride (10) had 15 of his game-high 22 points in the second half for ORU.
Saturday’s win extended the Golden Eagles’ home winning streak to 19 games.
Issac McBride had 15 of his game-high 22 points in the second half for ORU, including nine in the decisive run that started after TU (4-2) had taken a 58-56 lead on a 3-pointer by Cobe Williams with 6:51 remaining. McBride had two driving layups, made two free throws and followed with a 3 with 2:31 to go to put ORU (3-4) up 71-60.
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Oral Roberts Golden Eagles celebrate as ORU wins 79-70 during NCAA basketball between Tulsa and Oral Roberts for the Mayor’s Cup Saturday.
“I’m proud of the way our guys competed in the second half,” ORU coach Russell Springmann said. “They’ve been resilient and they were challenged in a different way tonight. … We found a way to (take the lead) and extend it.”
PJ Haggerty led Tulsa with 17 points.
The Golden Eagles are back home next Saturday to face Ozark Christian. Tulsa faces Loyola-Chicago Tuesday at the Reynolds Center.
Here are three takeaways from Saturday’s game:
1. Weaver early, McBride late: While McBride stepped up his scoring in the second half to help ORU pull away, DJ Weaver kept the Golden Eagles in the game in the first half.
Weaver hit his first five 3-point attempts—all in the first seven minutes. He finished with 20 points to go with McBride’s 22.
2. Things change fast: Tulsa coach Eric Konkol used the classic-for-a-reason “tale of two halves” to describe his team’s fortunes Saturday night.
“We were pretty good in the first half … but the difference between good and great is a few possessions sometimes. We had some empty possessions (during ORU’s second-half run) and they hit some big shots at that time.”
3. Stealing the show: Key to ORU’s late run were steals by Kareem Thompson and Josh Jones on consecutive TU possessions with under four minutes to play.
“Kareem made a great read,” Springmann said of Thompson’s play. “And Josh came with a different energy in the second half. … He’s continuing to grow and (step up) for us.”
Oral Roberts 79, Tulsa 70
Tulsa (4-2): Reed 2-6 2-2 7, Garcia 2-7 2-2 8, Haggerty 6-12 4-4 17, Barnes 3-5 0-1 7, Williams 5-14 2-5 14, Willis 4-7 0-1 10, Hall 0-1 2-2 2, Keita 1-1 0-0 2, Archie 2-1 0-0 3. Totals 24-57 12-17 70.
ORU (3-4): Weaver 6-12 3-5 20, Jones 3-3 1-2 7, Thompson 2-9 5-6 11, McBride 7-15 6-7 22, Bedford 3-6 6-8 13, Herron 0-1 1-3 1, Phipps 1-2 2-2 5. Totals 22-48 24-33 79.
3-point goals: TU 10-25 (Garcia 2-5, Williams 2-5, Willis 2-5, Reed 1-3, Barnes 1-3, Haggerty 1—1, Archie 1—1, Williams 0-1, Hall 0-1), ORU 11-27 (Weaver 5-10, Thompson 2-6, McBride 2-6, Bedford 1-3, Phipps 1-2). Rebounds: TU 32 (Garcia 7), ORU 35 (Bedford 8). Assists: TU 12 (Williams 5), ORU 12 (Thompson, McBride 4). Total fouls: TU 23, ORU 19. A: 6,949.
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