Press Conference: South Dakota State | Oral Roberts
The Basics
Score: No. 4 Oral Roberts 90, No. 1 South Dakota State 88
Records: South Dakota State (16-7) | Oral Roberts (15-10)
Location: The Sanford Pentagon - Sioux Falls, S.D.
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – For the first time in 10 years, Oral Roberts is headed to The Summit League Men's Basketball Championship title game as the fourth-seeded Golden Eagles used a putback right before the buzzer to knock out top-seeded South Dakota State 90-88 in Monday's first semifinal at the Sanford Pentagon. Junior Kevin Obanor provided the heroics for ORU as he controlled the tip just enough to send his bench into a frenzy.
Obanor, who was held scoreless in the first half, finished with 14 points and his game-winning tip in was just the second rebound of the game for The Summit League's leading rebounder. It was a pivotal one, however, for a program that will try to win its first tournament title since winning three in a row from 2006-08.
Obanor was one of six Golden Eagles to finish in double figures with Kareem Thompson pacing that group with a career-high 24 points. The Florence, Ala., native made some big shots down the stretch that made it appear like the Golden Eagles would not need any late-game dramatics. His corner 3-pointer with 36 seconds to play was his fourth of the game, but South Dakota State's Baylor Scheierman delayed the celebration.
The Jacks' all-league first teamer scored 20 of his career-high 28 points after halftime and the biggest of those points came with nine seconds left when he was fouled on a 3-point attempt and drained all of his free throws to square the game at 88-88.
ORU put the ball in the hands of the nation's leading scorer Max Abmas, who drove the length of the floor to get a decent look from inside the paint, but it fell off right into the hands of Obanor, who manuevered around the rim to tip it in behind his back.
The Golden Eagles made seven 3-pointers in the first half and closed the opening 20 minutes on a 14-4 run that put them ahead 43-34 at the break. Three ORU players were in double figures before halftime with Abmas leading that charge with 14. Thompson and DeShang Weaver both added 10, but ORU could not extend on its lead after the break.
Scheierman and 2020 Summit League Player of the Year Douglas Wilson kept the Jackrabbits chipping away at the lead and eventually tied it after Scheierman pump-faked his defender to draw the foul. Wilson went for 22 points and 10 rebounds with eight of those coming on the offensive glass.
Abmas finished with 18 points and a career-high 10 assists. Weaver finished with 12 points, contributing double-figures for the second straight game in the tournament. Carlos Jurgens (13) and Francis Lacis (11) rounded out the Golden Eagles' half-dozen in double figures.
The Golden Eagles will take on the winner of the second semifinal between No. 2 South Dakota and No. 3 North Dakota State at 8 p.m. CT on ESPN2.
Turning Point
After SDSU used the entire second half to rally back from a nine-point halftime deficit, ORU's Kevin Obanor tipped in a Max Abmas miss for the first buzzer-beater of his collegiate career
Inside the Box Score
- Both teams made 14 free throws, but ORU did not miss from the stripe while SDSU missed seven times
- Thompson had a season-high 24 points on 8-of-11 shooting from the floor - his previous high was 18 in the second game of the regular-season series with SDSU
- Abmas had a career-high 10 assists to go with his 18 points, giving him the first double-double of his career
- Scheierman scored 20 of his career-high 28 points in the second half to go with nine rebounds and seven assists
- ORU put six players in double figures for the first time since the 2018-19 season at Missouri
News & Notes
- The last time fourth-seeded ORU was in title game was in 2011 when the Golden Eagles lost to top-seeded Oakland
- The No. 4 seed has won the tournament in two of the last four years (South Dakota State; 2017 and North Dakota State; 2019)
- This will be the first tournament where the No. 1 seed will not appear in either the men's or women's championship games
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