Golden Eagles Close Out Regular Season with 89-72 Victory
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KANSAS CITY, Mo.-All five starters scored in double figures as Oral Roberts closed out the regular season with an 89-72 Summit League victory over UMKC, Saturday at Municipal Auditorium.
The win gives ORU (19-12 overall, 13-5 Summit) a season-best five-game winning streak heading into next weekend’s Summit League Tournament in Sioux Falls, S.D.
Michael Craion (Kansas City, Mo.) led all scorers with 22 points on 8-of-14 shooting. Craion turned in a dominant performance, adding 11 rebounds and four blocked shots while holding UMKC (12-17, 6-12) leading scorer Jay Couisnard to 3-of-17 shooting in a showdown of the Summit’s top newcomers.
Dominique Morrison (Kansas City, Mo.) scored 17 points, while Kevin Ford (Portland, Ore.) added 16 points, 11 rebounds, four assists and three blocked shots.
Warren Niles (Cincinnati, Ohio) scored 13 points and Ken Holdman (Tulsa, Okla.) chipped in 11 points and seven rebounds as ORU coasted to its 10th straight win over the Kangaroos.
ORU led by as many as 14 points in the first half when a free throw by Holdman gave ORU a 37-23 lead with 6:30 left before halftime. UMKC battled back and closed to within 38-33 with 3:58 in the half before ORU stepped up its play and settled for a 44-33 halftime lead.
The Golden Eagles were never challenged in the second half.
Trey McKinney-Jones led the Kangaroos with 17 points, while Couisnard finished with 15 points on the strength of 8-of-9 free throw shooting.
ORU shot 55.6 percent from the field and 67.5 percent (27-40) from the free throw line, while out-rebounding UMKC by a 46-29 margin. UMKC shot just 35.8 percent from the field.
The Golden Eagles enter next week’s Summit tournament as the No. 3 seed and while square off against sixth-seeded North Dakota State, 8:30 p.m., Sunday, March 7 at the Sioux Falls Civic Center.
Updated 02-28-2010
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