It was a great dance, but it came to a disappointing end, as the No. 15 seed ORU Golden Eagles lost to No. 3 Arkansas, 72-70, in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Basketball Tournament, on Saturday.

It was certainly no fluke, or a lucky streak, that propelled the Golden Eagles deep into the NCAA Tournament. This team is a legitimate powerhouse, and it’s no surprise to those of us who have been watching them since November.

ORU became only the second No. 15 seed to reach the Sweet 16, and with a win, could have become the first No. 15 to reach the Elite Eight.

Arkansas secured the win by making a jump shot with 3.1 seconds to play, giving the Razorbacks a two-point lead. After a Golden Eagles’ timeout, Max Abmas dribbled quickly up the court and took a potential game-winning 3-pointer, but it was just off the mark ending a historic run by ORU.

“I’m proud, but you always think you’re capable of so much more,” ORU head coach Paul Mills said after the game. “Not that I’m disappointed in this group at all, but you always think, a shot there, a shot there … how different this stuff could play out.”

Mills is right. ORU could have won this game, and almost did. The Golden Eagles led by as many as 12-points in the second half but just couldn’t shut down Arkansas.

ORU played very well in a low-scoring first half and built an early 15-7 lead on the strength of five 3-pointers by four different players, and the Golden Eagles led 35-28 at halftime.

The Golden Eagles were led by Max Abmas, who has received national attention for leading the country in scoring this season. Abmas led four Golden Eagles starters in double figures with 25 points as he eclipsed the 20-point plateau for the 20th time this season and third in as many games on the national stage.

Abmas said after the game the Golden Eagles had a goal of going further.

“The job wasn’t just to get to the Sweet 16,” Abmas said. “The job was to get to the national championship and win it.”

ORU is now (4-6) all-time in NCAA Tournament games and made its first appearance in the Sweet 16 since 1974. The Golden Eagles were just the third Summit League team to reach the regional semifinals and would have been the first league team to make the Elite Eight.

The Golden Eagles end the season with an 18-11 record, which is the most victories since the 2014-15 team went 19-15.

There is no doubt Oral Roberts University garnered a lot of publicity with the success of the basketball team in the NCAA Tournament.

Some liberal media members criticized the university’s honor code and Biblical standards, calling them archaic, but mostly the publicity has been positive.

There will certainly be additional funds coming to the athletic program as a result of the team’s success, and hopefully sponsors and donors will also throw their support behind a program that is going in the right direction.

Let’s just hope ORU can keep Paul Mills around for many years to come.