Golden Eagles Fall to UALR, 52-49

LAS VEGAS, Nev.- Damen Bell-Holter (Hydaburg, Alaska) scored 16 points to lead Oral Roberts, but the Golden Eagles faltered down the stretch in suffering a 52-49 loss to UALR, Tuesday at the Las Vegas Holiday Hoops Classic.

Trailing by three (50-47) with 2:35 left, ORU pulled to within 50-49 on a tip-in basket by Steven Roundtree (Jacksonville, Fla.) with 43 seconds to play.

But with a chance to take the lead, Dominique Morrison(Kansas City, Mo.) missed the front-end of a one-and-one just 10 seconds later. Down 51-49 with 11 seconds left, Bell-Holter missed a pair of free throws. After UALR’s Solomon Bozeman made just one of two free throws for a 52-49 advantage, Warren Niles (Cincinnati, Ohio) missed a game-tying three-pointer at the buzzer.

After leading 28-21 at halftime and leading by nine 15 seconds into the second half, the Golden Eagles (4-8) began to struggle. Bell-Holter gave ORU a 30-21 advantage with 19:45 remaining, but ORU misfired on five of its next six possessions, allowing the Trojans (7-6) to get back in the game. UALR tied it at 32-32 when Bozeman nailed a jumper with 15:20 left.

Bell-Holter gave ORU the lead back when a jumper made it 34-32 and a pair of Tim Morton(Greenbelt, Md.) free throws gave the Golden Eagles a 36-32 edge with 13:09 left.

Morrison, who earlier in the game became the 28th player in ORU history to reach the 1,000-career point mark, drained a three-pointer for a 39-35 advantage with 11:10 left. But the Golden Eagles scored just five points on their next 11 possessions, and UALR regained the lead.

Bozeman converted a pair of free throws for a 44-43 lead with 6:41 remaining, giving UALR the lead for good.

For the fourth straight game ORU struggled with shooting from the field, converting on just 32 percent of its field goal attempts. UALR shot just 35 percent but the Trojans out-rebounded ORU 43-33, including 17-12 in offensive rebounds.

Bell-Holter was 6-of-10 from the field and grabbed five rebounds. Roundtree finished with his third double of the year after scoring 11 points and grabbing 13 rebounds.