No. 8 seed Oral Roberts opened the Summit League Men’s Basketball Championship with a first-round win over No. 9 seed Kansas City, 84-62, Wednesday at the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center, in Sioux Falls, S.D. It was the Golden Eagles fourth win in a row, and they advanced to play the No. 1 see, North Dakota State.
ORU shot 50 percent from the field and 47 percent from three-point range, and shutdown the Roos defensively.
Four players scored in double figures for the Golden Eagles. Ty Harper led all scorers with 22 points, while Martins Kilups scored a career-high 17 off the bench, Connor Dow finished with 14 points, and Luke Gray added 11.
The Roos were paced by Jayson Petty’s 14 points, while Chris Dockery joined him in double figures with 11.
ORU never trailed in the game after opening the game on a 7-0 run. The Golden Eagles led 44-21 at halftime behind 18 first-half points from Harper.
ORU outrebounded Kansas City 43-32.
QUARTERFINAL GAME
No. 1 seed North Dakota State got 38 points in the paint and 24 from reserve players in earning a 76-65 victory over No. 8 seed Oral Roberts in the quarterfinals of the Summit League Men’s Basketball Championship on Thursday. ORU ends the season with a 10-23 overall record and 4-12 in Summit League play.
The Bison did not trail beyond giving up the first basket of the game and led 36-26 at halftime. That’s despite six three-pointers by Oral Roberts. The Golden Eagles totaled 13 three-pointers for the game but netted only seven two-point baskets.
Damari Wheeler-Thomas led NDSU with 18 points, while Trevian Carson added 17.
Sparked by Connor Dow, ORU went on a 10-0 run to get within 57-52 near the midpoint of the second half. But the Golden Eagles were held without a field goal over the next seven minutes and NDSU regained control.
Dow finished with a career-high 24 points, which included five 3-pointers. Luke Gray added 15 points for Oral Roberts. ORU’s leading scorer, Ty Harper, fouled out with more than six minutes remaining in the game. He finished with 10 points.