TULSA, Okla. – The Mavericks held the lead with 3:36 left in the game hoping to spoil the Golden Eagles’ perfect home record. Oral Roberts didn’t falter and used a 10-0 run following the final Omaha lead and went on to win its 10th at home, 73-64.
The Mavericks fall to 7-16 overall, 3-8 in league play.
Omaha Leaders
Frankie Fidler notched his third double-double of the season with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Marquel Sutton tallied a team-best 19 points. Both Fidler and Sutton were 8-of-18 from the field and had a three-pointer each. Sutton added six rebounds.
Luke Jungers provided a late spark and scored nine points. He grabbed four rebounds and tallied a pair of assists.
Oral Roberts Leaders
Connor Vanover led all-scorers with 23 points. He also recorded a double-double with 10 rebounds. He also tallied four blocks. Vanover finished the night 9-of-18 from the field. Max Abmas did a bit of everything tonight recorded 19 points, five rebounds, five assists, and a block.
Issac McBride and Kareem Thompson scored double-figures. McBride went 5-of-11 for 13 points, while Thompson was 5-of-8 for 11 points. McBride tallied seven boards, while Thompson grabbed nine.
Team Stats
ORU out-rebounded Omaha, 44-39. The Golden Eagles tallied only one more on the offensive glass, but led on second chance points, 14-8. The Maverick bench outscored ORU’s, 17-6. The Golden Eagles held an edge in the paint (38-30), off the turnover (13-4), and on the fast break (8-0).
Shooting wise, Omaha finished the night 39.7 percent from the field, while ORU was just a bit higher at 40.3 percent. Both teams struggled from three. Omaha made only three attempts, while ORU made six.
Inside the First Half
Sutton scored the first points of Saturday’s contest before the Golden Eagles lit up for their home crowd. Thompson and Vanover hit back-to-back threes swinging the lead in their favor. Vanover the recorded two straight dunks on ORU possessions, but Fidler and Tony Osburn managed to get the lead down to four by the first media timeout. McBride found his stride after the break with a three and jumper in the paint for ORU’s largest lead at seven with just over 13 minutes to play. He then got it to nine under the 10-minute mark, but the Mavericks began to chip away at the Golden Eagles.
Akol Arop and Kyle Luedtke provided a spark off the bench igniting a 10-0 run capped with another bucket from Arop for Omaha’s second lead of the night at the 7:37 mark. The next two and a half minutes saw three lead changes as the teams battled until the halftime break. Abmas downed a three with 49 seconds on the clock, but Sutton had the final bucket of the half. Omaha trailed, 32-30.
Inside the Second Half
ORU got comfortable again in the opening minutes of the second half building its lead back to seven with quick points from Abmas, McBride, and Vanover. Fidler and Sutton distrupted their offense and continued to carry Omaha keeping it close. Fidler grabbed a defensive board and took it down court for an easy jumper to cut the lead down to one with 13:43 to play. A few minutes later, Fidler used a screen to setp up for a three making it another one possession game. This timeThe Mavericks capitalized and five straight Omaha points from Jungers recaptured the lead at 52-51 with 8:20 to go.
Over the next two minutes, ORU forced two ties but Jungers and Sutton battled in the paint to keep a one-point edge for Omaha. Sutton’s jumper with 3:36 on the clock would be Omaha’s final lead at 60-59 as the Golden Eagles found a way to go on a 10-0 run leading to a 73-54 win.
Game Notes
-Jungers made his first career start.
-Fidler recorded his third double-double of the season.
-ORU never led by double-figures.
Up Next
The Mavericks finally return home after a four-game road trip. They’ll take on St. Thomas on Thursday, Feb. 2 at 7 p.m.
