Box Score | Season Stats | 2021-22 Schedule

The Basics
Score: Oral Roberts 81 – St. Thomas 66
Record: ORU (10-6, 4-1) - STU (8-8, 2-2)
Location: St. Paul, Minn. (Schoenecker Arena)
 
ST. PAUL, Minn. – Max Abmas matched his season high with 38 points as the Oral Roberts men's basketball team won 81-66 Thursday evening at St. Thomas to move to 4-1 in Summit League play.
 
A strong start on the road for the Golden Eagles led the team to an 81-66 victory over St. Thomas behind Abmas' third 30-plus point game of the season. The Summit League Player of the Week went 11-for-22 from the field with six being from long range. Issac McBride added 11 points of his own to cap off the third-straight win for ORU.
 
Offensively, ORU shot 53 percent from the field in the first 20 minutes of play going 10-for-14 from inside the three-point arc. Abmas led with 14 first half points and went 5-for-10 after playing all 20 minutes. The Golden Eagles held the hot shooting Tommies to 3-for-19 from long range in the opening 20 minutes. ORU jumped out to a 17 point advantage that was sparked by a 9-0 run, just under 10 minutes left in the first. At the break, the Golden Eagles led 43-32.
 
St. Thomas got to within eight with 14 minutes to play, but then ORU sparked an 11-2 run to regain a 17 point margin. During the run, the Golden Eagle defense held St. Thomas scoreless for 4-plus minutes. Down the stretch, the Tommies would get as close as 12 before the Golden Eagles closed out the 15 point game.
 
Coming into the game, St. Thomas led the nation in three-pointers made per game (13.9), but was held to just seven makes on the night. ORU never trailed in Thursday's game and the defense held St. Thomas to 13 points below average. On the boards, the Golden Eagles dominated by out-rebounding the Tommies, 48-29.  
 
Turning Point
The Golden Eagle defense held St. Thomas scoreless for 4-plus minutes in the second half after an 11-2 run. ORU took a 17 point lead with 10:16 to play and didn't look back.    

Individual Leaders
Oral Roberts: Abmas had 38 points on the night to tie his season high. Elijah Lufile led ORU in rebounding for the second consecutive game with 10 board.

St. Thomas: Parker Bjorklund totaled 21 points and Anders Nelson secured six rebounds.

Inside the Box Score
- The Golden Eagles scored 24 points in the paint. ORU's bench production secured 27 points.
 
- ORU 43.3 percent from the field and 32.4 percent from beyond the arc.
 
- St. Thomas shot 39.7 percent overall and 20.6 percent from long range.
 
- ORU out-rebounded St. Thomas, 48-29, with 12 being offensive.
 
News and Notes
- For his 12th consecutive game, Abmas had 10-plus points. He has now scored 20-plus points in three-consecutive outings. It was his ninth 20-plus point game of the season and third 30-plus point night.
 
- Lufile had 10 rebounds in the game for his second 10-plus rebounding night of the season.
 
- ORU has made 10-plus three-point buckets in 14 of its last 16 games.

Up Next
Oral Roberts will continue the weekend on the road at Western Illinois Saturday, Jan. 8 at 2 p.m. inside Western Hall.

For the latest information on ORU Men's Basketball, follow the Golden Eagles on Twitter and Instagram, or go to www.ORUAthletics.com. Fans can also receive updates on the team by downloading the ORU Athletics app from the App Store or Google Play Store.