TULSA—Smothering defense and a balanced offense led Oral Roberts University to a 73-46 Summit League victory over IPFW, Thursday at Mabee Center.

The Golden Eagles (5-11, 3-1 Summit) won consecutive games for the first time this season. IPFW (6-10, 1-4) shot just 26.9 percent from the field, the second straight ORU opponent to shoot below 30 percent.

Both teams came out cold and sluggish to start the game, but it didn't take long for ORU to heat up. Down 6-5 with 15:14 left in the first half, the Golden Eagles went on a 13-0 run over the next 4:17, taking an 18-6 lead on a Kevin Ford (Portland, Ore.) dunk at 9:43.

The lead swelled to 31-11 when Ken Holdman (Tulsa, Okla.) converted a layup with 3:23 remaining before halftime. ORU led 37-19 at the break.

IPFW never got closer than 17 in the second half. After the Mastodons cut the lead to 50-33 with 10:24 to play, the Golden Eagles used a 15-5 run to forge a 65-38 lead on back-to-back dunks by Ford, the last coming with 5:01 to play.

The Golden Eagles pushed the lead to 30 points in the final minutes when Renardo Rhone (Oklahoma City, Okla.) converted a floater in the lane for a 71-41 edge with 1:24 to play.

Marcus Lewis (Long Beach, Calif.) led a balanced ORU attack with 14 points. Lewis was 6-of-7 from the field and grabbed five rebounds. Ford recorded his third straight double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds, while Robert Jarvis (Humble, Texas) chipped in with 11 points, 5 rebounds and four assists.

Andre Hardy (San Diego, Calif.) tied for game-high honors with 11 rebounds, as ORU dominated IPFW on the glass, 53-35.

ORU shot 49.2 percent from the field, and won handily despite 21 turnovers.

No Mastodon scored more than eight points, with Ben Botts gaining top scoring honors. IPFW entered the game shooting 39.8 percent from 3-point range, but made just 2-of-14 from beyond the arc against ORU.

The Golden Eagles return to the court when they host Oakland, 7:05 p.m., Saturday at Mabee Center.

--ORU--