Box Score | Season Stats | 2019-20 Schedule
The Basics
Score: Oral Roberts 92 - Purdue Fort Wayne 68
Record: ORU (11-8, 4-2 SL) – PFW (9-11, 2-3 SL)
Location: Fort Wayne, Ind. (Memorial Coliseum)
FORT WAYNE, Ind. – Emmanuel Nzekwesi dominated the court Saturday afternoon posting a 30-point, 11-rebound double-double and R.J. Fuqua notched a career-best nine assists as the Oral Roberts men's basketball team took down Purdue Fort Wayne, 92-68, inside the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum.
The Golden Eagles used a 30-6 run during the second half covering more than 10 minutes to secure their fourth-straight Summit League win.
The Mastodons stormed out of the gates hitting 5-of-10 from long range building a 19-13 edge over the visitors, but ORU fought back and used an 8-2 run of its own to jump in front, 24-23. The lead switched back-and-forth between the squads nine times during the half. The Golden Eagles took control on a 13-0 run over a span of 3:21 for a 41-29 advantage with 4:05 in the frame as Max Abmas knocked down a jumper. ORU eventually claimed an eight-point cushion at halftime, 47-39.
The Golden Eagles continued to push posting a quick 9-2 run out of the locker room stretching their lead over the Mastodons to 56-41 and never let up the rest of the way. Nzekwesi's unrelenting effort kick started a 17-2 run covering more than five minutes capped on an Aidan Saunders floater that forced ORU's lead to 73-45.
The scoring surge could not be stopped by Purdue Fort Wayne as Nzekwesi took a slick feed from Fuqua and hammered a dunk swelling the margin to 30 points, 77-47. ORU built the advantage as high as 32 points before closing out the road win, 92-68.
Quote of the Game
"To play well on the road involves a number of guys and our seniors did a great job of setting the tone to get a win in a tough environment." – Head Coach Paul Mills
Turning Point
Already holding an eight-point lead at halftime, the Golden Eagles dominated the early stages of the second half thanks to strong shooting that put the game away behind runs of 9-0 and 12-0. ORU connected on seven-straight shot attempts between the 17:40 mark and 13:56 putting it comfortably in front, 68-45.
Individual Leaders
Oral Roberts: Nzekwesi made 13-of-17 shots for the day on his way to a season-best 30 points and added 11 rebound and two blocks. He did all of his damage in just 28 minutes on the court.
Purdue Fort Wayne: Brian Patrick led the Mastodons posting 18 points, hitting 50 percent of his shots, but committed five of the team's 14 turnovers.
Inside the Box Score
- Nzekwesi knocked down 7-of-10 attempts in the opening half for a game-best 16 points at intermission and went on to shoot 76 percent from the floor for the contest. It was the second 30-plus-point game of his ORU tenure as the redshirt senior crossed 1,300 career points for the navy and gold.
- Fuqua had already set a season high with six assists in the first half alone and closed the day with nine, the most of his ORU career, and did not turn the ball over once. The redshirt sophomore grabbed five rebounds and two steals, while finishing a +31 when on the court.
- Burns hit 60 percent of his shots (6-of-10) tallying 15 points thanks to a 3-of-4 effort from behind the arc. He also dished out four assists without committing a turnover as he has 40 assists and only seven turnovers his last seven games.
- Abmas reached double-figure scoring for the 14th time this season chipping in 14, while Kevin Obanor gave the Golden Eagles 10 points and four rebounds recording double-digit points for the seventh time in his last eight games.
- D'Mauria Jones helped ORU with seven points in eight minutes off the bench, including a rare four-point play in the final minute.
News and Notes
- ORU shot a season-best 60 percent in the victory converting 37-of-62 attempts and went 42 percent from distance making 10-of-24 3-pointers.
- Saturday marked ORU's largest of victory (24) in a road win since January 16, 2014 at Abilene Christian, 82-59. It's also the Golden Eagles first four-game win streak in league play since January 7-17, 2015.
- The Golden Eagles finished off the weekend sweep in league play roughly 40 hours after a road win at Western Illinois Thursday night.
Up Next
ORU plays its final game of a three-game road swing next Saturday, Jan. 25 in Vermillion, South Dakota, against the Coyotes at 3:30 p.m.
For the latest information on ORU men's basketball, follow @ORUMBB on Twitter or Instagram, or go to www.ORUAthletics.com. Fans can also receive updates on the team by downloading the ORU Athletics Front Row App at ORUAthletics.com/frontrow or the ORU Golden Eagles Live App in iTunes or the Google Play Store. For tickets, visit mabeecenter.com or call 495-7ORU (7678).
#GoldenStandard
