Dave Eggen/Inertia

Men's Basketball

No. 8 Kansas City takes down No. 9 Oral Roberts to move onto quarterfinals

The Basics
Score: No. 8 Kansas City 73, No. 9 Oral Roberts 56
Records: Kansas City (13-19, 4-12 SL), Oral Roberts (7-23,3-13 SL)
Location: Denny Sanford PREMIER Center - Sioux Falls, S.D.



SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – A hot-shooting first half from Jamar Brown and strong defense throughout lifted No. 8 Kansas City to a 73-56 win over No. 9 Oral Roberts in the first round of the 2025 Men's Summit League Championship at the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center. Brown finishd with a game-high 24 points, while Jayson Petty added 18 and Cameron Faas chipped in with 15 for the Roos.

After falling behind early 10-4, Brown took over from deep to propel his team into the lead. His triple at the 9:15 mark broke a 15-15 tie and he would score the Roos next 14 points to stake them to a 29-23 halftime lead. He finished the half with 19 points and went 7-for-12 from the field, while the rest of his teammates combined to go 4-for-22.

Sam Alajiki had nine first-half points to pace the Golden Eagles, who also turned the ball over 10 times, but ORU managed to stay within striking distance.

In the second half, Brown took a back seat to Jayson Petty and Cameron Faas as those two combined for 29 points to put the Roos in firm control of the contest. Petty scored 16 of his 18 points after the break, while Faas had 13 of his 15. 

A three-point play by Brown at the 15:23 mark put the Roos up by double figures for the rest of the game as he finished with a game-high 24 points.

Oral Roberts senior Issac McBride closed out his career with a team-high 19 points.  He scored 13 of those in the second half but the Golden Eagles could never string together a run to make things interesting down the stretch.

Oral Roberts will take on No. 1 seed Omaha in Thursday's first men's quaterfinal, which starts at 6 p.m. CT.
 
Turning Point
With the score tied at 15-15 midway through the first half, Brown scored the final 14 points of the half, starting that run with three consecutive tripes and KC would never trail again 
 
Inside the Box Score
  • Brown went 5-for-9 from 3-point land in the first half and scored the final 14 points of those opening 20 minutes for the Roos. He only scored seven points in KC's quarterfinal loss to Denver when the Roos were the No. 2 seed.
  • Brown finished with 24 points and his 20-plus point outing was the 10th of his season and 16th of his career.
  • ORU shot 42.9 percent from the floor in the first half but turned the ball over 10 times.
  • McBride scored a team-high 19 for the Golden Eagles, marking the 20th time this season he led ORU in scoring.
  • Kansas City outrebounded Oral Roberts 35-28, including a 13-6 advantage on the offensive glass.
News & Notes
  • The win for the Roos was their first at the Summit League Championship since an 84-76 quarterfinal win over Valparaiso in 2007 - they had lost eight straight. 
  • ORU advanced out of the first round game a season ago but fell this time after winning tournament titles as the No. 4 seed in 2021 and No. 1 seed in 2023.
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