The Basics
Score: South Dakota 83 - Oral Roberts 70
Records: USD 13-14 (7-6 SL) - ORU 14-12 (7-5 SL)
Location: Mabee Center - Tulsa, Okla.

TULSA, Okla. - A 17-0 first half South Dakota run proved the difference as Oral Roberts fell 83-70 inside the Mabee Center Saturday night.

The loss is ORU's second at home this season and first ever in the six game series history against South Dakota. The Golden Eagles were out-rebounded by a margin of 14, tying the largest deficit this year after also being out-rebounded by 14 at Memphis.

The Golden Eagles got 19 points from Obi Emegano and 11 points from Korey Billbury, although the duo combined to shoot 11-35 on the night. As a team, ORU connected on 37 percent (26-70) of its shots. Billbury grabbed a team-high eight rebounds and also dished out five assists.

South Dakota's Tre Burnette became the first opponent since Oklahoma's Ryan Spangler to record a double-double against the Golden Eagles, scoring 10 points and grabbing 16 rebounds. Casey Kasperbauer led the way with 20 points, while Tyler Larson added 19 points.

Quote of the Game
"I can't figure this team out. We told them before the game that they controlled their own destiny when it comes to a conference championship and for them to come out and play like that is unacceptable and disappointing. You have to give South Dakota a lot of credit they hit some tough shots, especially early in the game." - Coach Scott Sutton

Turning Point
With the game tied at 18, South Dakota went on a 17-0 run. Although the Golden Eagles were able to cut the deficit to single digits multiple times, ORU was not able to completely climb out of the hole.

Individual Leaders
Oral Roberts: Obi Emegano scored 19 points, while Korey Billbury led the way with eight rebounds and five assists.
South Dakota: Casey Kasperbauer scored 20 points and Tre Burnette grabbed a team-high 16 rebounds.

Inside the Box Score
- South Dakota shot 55.6 percent (30-54) for the game and a blistering 62 percent (18-29) in the first half.
- ORU was out-rebounded 41-27 in the contest, tying the largest rebounding deficit of the season
- Despite the hot-shooting by the Coyotes, ORU's defensive pressure caused 16 turnovers as the Golden Eagles grabbed eight steals and held a 20-7 scoring advantage in points off turnovers.
- ORU turned the ball over just seven times, the second fewest this season only behind the six giveaways in the first meeting between the two teams.
- ORU hit just 26 percent (6-23) from 3-point range.
- After the two teams combined for just three free throws in the first half, there were a combined 29 in the second half. USD was 17-20 from the charity stripe while ORU was 12-12.
- ORU's perfection from the line marked the fifth time in which ORU has connected on 100 percent from the free throw line when attempting at least 10 in a game.

News & Notes
- Tied at 18-18 after a Darian Harris 3-pointer, South Dakota mounted a 17-0 run to take a 35-18 lead with 6:13 to play in the half.
- ORU mounted its first extended rally of the game in the final 3:21 of the half, scoring the final nine points to creep back to a single-digit deficit at 41-33 going into halftime.
- The Golden Eagles had just two free throw attempts in the first half and matched that total 0:16 into the second frame. ORU's first six points of the second half all came from the free throw line.
- ORU is now 1-8 when its opponents make more free throws and 1-7 when the opponent gets to the line more.
- The 13-point loss was the most lopsided home loss since falling 88-74 January 29, 2005 to UMKC.

Up Next
The Golden Eagles will travel to Omaha (Thursday) and South Dakota State (Saturday) in the final road trip of the regular season.

For the latest information on ORU men's basketball, follow @ORUMBB on Twitter or go to www.ORUAthletics.com.

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