Ford, Niles Lead ORU Past Centenary, 76-56

TULSA—Kevin Ford (Portland, Ore.) scored a game-high 21 points and Warren Niles (Cincinnati, Ohio) added 17 as Oral Roberts downed Summit League foe Centenary 76-56, Tuesday in the Mabee Center season finale. The win also gave ORU head coach Scott Sutton his 200th career victory.

The Golden Eagles (16-12 overall, 11-5 Summit) shot 51.8 percent from the field en route to their 14th straight win over the Gents (8-19, 3-13).

The teams traded the lead throughout the first 10 minutes of the game, with Centenary holding a 21-17 edge with 10:29 to play. A Dominique Morrison (Kansas City, Mo.) three-pointer with 9:01 left in the half started a 15-3 run. Ford capped the outburst with a tip-in at 4:09 for a 35-24 lead.

After a bucket by Centenary made it 35-26, the Golden Eagles closed the half on a 10-2 spurt for a 45-28 halftime lead.

Centenary never got any closer than 17 points in the second half (49-32). ORU opened up a 36-point lead when a layup by Damen Bell-Holter (Hydaburg, Alaska) made it 73-37 with 9:45 to play. At that point Sutton cleared the bench and ORU coasted the rest of the way.

Ford finished 8-of-13 from the field, adding three steals. Niles was 7-of-12 from the field with three assists, two steals and two rebounds. Morrison enjoyed a 6-of-7 shooting night, including a pair of threes, adding six rebounds and four assists. 

Daman Starring led Centenary with 13 points. The Gents shot just 34 percent and turned it over 20 times.