The Basics
Score: No. 8 Oral Roberts 84, No. 9 Kansas City 62
Records: Oral Roberts (10-22, 4-12 SL), Kansas City (4-27, 1-15 SL)
Location: Denny Sanford PREMIER Center - Sioux Falls, S.D.
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – No. 8 seed Oral Roberts rolled into the quarterfinals with a 84-62 victory over No. 9 seed Kansas City Wednesday in the opening round of the Summit League Men's Basketball Championship at the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center. The Golden Eagles pushed their season-best winning streak to four games thanks to shooting 50 percent from the field and 47 percent from three-point range.
Senior Ty Harper led four Golden Eagles in double figures with 22 points, while Martins Kilups added a career-high 17 off the bench for ORU, who won a tournament game for the first time since cutting down the nets in 2023.
Harper had 18 of his points in the first half as ORU opened a 7-0 lead and never trailed. His efforts helped the Golden Eagles take a 44-21 advantage at the break as the Roos made just 26 percent of their shots from the field. Harper, meanwhile, went 5-for-9 from the field, including a 4-for-6 effort from deep in those opening 20 minutes.
It was more of the same in the second half as the Golden Eagles finished with 13 makes from beyond the arc -- just one shy of a season-best effort. Kilups chipped in with four triples as well and Connor Dow added three from long range to finish with 14 points. Luke Gray rounded out ORU's quartet of double-figure scorers with 11.
The Roos were paced by junior Jayson Petty's 14 points, while Chris Dockery joined him in double figures with 11.
The Golden Eagles will play top-seeded North Dakota State in Thursday's first men's quarterfinal, which is set to start at 6 p.m. CT.
Turning Point
Oral Roberts opened the game on a 7-0 run and, from there, the Golden Eagles never trailed. ORU would push its lead to 44-21 by halftime behind 18 first-half points from Harper.
Inside the Box Score
- Harper led all scorers with 22 points and is averaging 31.3 ppg during ORU's four-game winning streak.
- ORU held a 43-32 advantage on the glass but it was the Roos who led in offensive boards 13-12.
- The Golden Eagles have now shot 50 percent or better from the field in four of their last seven games after doing that just four times in their first 25.
News & Notes
- This was a rematch of the opening-round game from a season ago that saw the Roos advance to the quarterfinals with a win over the Golden Eagles.
- ORU's victory was the program's 31st in the Summit League Tournament history, which is the most among active members -- South Dakota State is second with 28.
- Harper is the Reigning Lou Henson National Player of the Week and Summit League Kwik Star Peak Performer of the Week.
#SUMMITMBB
