It was a busy sports weekend, last week, and I’m still exhausted.
On Thursday evening, I played in the Pep Band at the ORU men’s basketball game. The Golden Eagles were hosting Western Illinois. If you’ll recall, that was the evening after five-to-seven inches of snow fell on Tulsa in the previous 24 hours.
The athletic department brass at ORU did a brilliant thing. They announced that anyone who braved the cold and snowy streets to attend the game, would get in free. As a result, and much to my surprise, over 4,100 fans packed the lower section of the Mabee Center.
It was the largest crowd of the season, not counting the games against Oklahoma State and Tulsa.
With a crowd like that, you really want your team to play well and put on a good show. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case in the first half. The Golden Eagles really struggled in the first 20 minutes of play. ORU shot just 27.6-percent from the field and made only 1-of-14 three-pointers, in the first half. Western Illinois led 45-22 at halftime. Yes, you read that right, ORU scored only 22 points in the first half.
But wait a minute. The second half comeback by the Golden Eagles was epic. ORU went on a 20-5 run after halftime and scored 63 points in the second half, but fell just short of a victory, as the Leathernecks held on for a 90-85 win.
The Golden Eagles’ star-player Max Abmas was scoreless in the fist half but finished the game with 33 points.
Two days later, I was back at ORU again for a men’s game against St. Thomas, and although the Golden Eagles got off to a slow start in the first half, and trailed 36-34 at halftime, the result would be quite different. Once again there was a large crowd at the Mabee Center, with over 4,400 as the announced attendance.
The star this night was ORU’s big man, Elijah Lufile, who led the team with 25 points and 13 rebounds.
ORU outscored the Tommies 54-30 in the second half, and won 88-66. The Golden Eagles are now 16-8 overall and 10-3 in the Summit League. As I wrote in the beginning of the season, this Golden Eagles team is a fun team to watch, and has the potential to return to the NCAA Tournament.
The Golden Eagles are home again this Saturday at 7:00 p.m. to face Kansas City.
THE WEEKEND CONTINUES
On Sunday, a friend and I went to the Tulsa Oilers game. We both love hockey and the Oilers, and this game gave us a lot to cheer about, but broke our hearts in the end.
Tulsa had a 2-0 lead after two periods of play, but Rapid City scored early in the third period to cut the lead in half.
The Oilers then went up 3-1, but that lead didn’t hold, and at the end of regulation the two teams were tied, 4-4. However, a penalty with just nine-seconds remaining in the third period gave the Rush a power play that carried over to the overtime period.
Just 48-seconds into the overtime, Rapid City scored with the man advantage, to take the 5-4 win. What a disappointing way to lose, after blowing a couple leads late in the game.
The Oilers are on the road for six straight games before returning home for a three-game series against Rapid City, Feb. 25-27.
In between all the live sports I attended over a four-day period, I tried to watch as much of the Winter Olympics as possible, and the NHL All-Star Game and skills competition.
Well, there you have it. Not a bad weekend for a sports fan.