Golden Eagles Fall at North Dakota State, 80-74

The Golden Eagles (5-12 overall, 2-3 Summit) lost their fourth straight game despite a career-high scoring effort by junior guard Ken Holdman (Tulsa, Okla.), who scored 15 points and picked up four steals.

Defense was again the culprit as ORU allowed North Dakota State (8-6, 2-2) to shoot at a 56 percent clip, including 62 percent in the first half. But despite the defensive struggles, the Golden Eagles were in the game until the end.

North Dakota State led by as many as nine points in the first half before settling for a 41-38 halftime lead. The Bison pushed the lead back up to nine points when Michael Tveidt converted a pair of free throws for a 49-40 advantage with 16:43 to play.

But ORU slowly came back. A steal and layup by Holdman made it 49-42, and another steal and a three-point play by Holdman put ORU within 49-45 with 15:01 remaining. After NDSU went ahead 51-45 the Golden Eagles scored seven straight points, with Hunter McClintock’s (Durham, N.C.)  three-pointer giving ORU a 52-51 advantage with 11:38 to go, its first lead since the opening basket.

North Dakota State, however, quickly regained control of the game. A pair of free throws and a three-pointer by Felt made it 56-52 with 9:01 left. After a layup by Steven Roundtree(Jacksonville, Fla.) pulled ORU to within 56-54, Felt responded with another trey for a 59-54 lead.

The Bison eventually pushed the lead back to nine points (63-54) before ORU again charged back. A three-point play by Holdman made it 63-58 with 5:54 to go. NDSU’s lead stayed between four and eight points until a layup by Damen Bell-Holter (Hydaburg, Alaska) and a three-pointer byWarren Niles (Cincinnati, Ohio) trimmed the lead to 71-70 with 1:53 left.

After NDSU’s Drew Lundberg made one-of-two free throws, Bell-Holter knotted the game at 72-72 on a pair of free throws with 1:22 left. Felt gave the Bison the lead for good at 74-72 with two free throws with 1:05 left as ORU misfired on its next two trips and was forced to foul each time.

Bell-Holter led ORU with 17 points, going 7-of-8 from the field and 3-of-5 from the line. The sophomore center added five rebounds and three blocks. Niles finished with 12 points while Pearson scored an ORU career-high 11.

Tveidt supported Felt with 18 points while Eric Carlson scored 14 and Freddy Coleman chipped in 12.