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The Basics
Score: Oral Roberts 91 – Kansas City 86
Record: ORU (17-8, 11-3) - KC (16-10, 9-5)
Location: Tulsa, Okla. (Mabee Center)
 
TULSA, Okla. – After trailing by 14 in the first half, the Oral Roberts men's basketball team stormed back to defeat Kansas City, 91-86, Saturday evening at the Mabee Center.
 
Five Golden Eagles scored in double-figures Saturday evening as Max Abmas once again led ORU with 19 points. Francis Lacis went 6-for-8 from the field for 18 points. Elijah Lufile picked up where he left off from last week with 17 points and 15 rebounds for consecutive double-doubles. Lufile went a perfect 6-for-6 overall. Issac McBride shot 50 percent from the field for 16 points and Kareem Thompson added 10.
 
Kansas City jumped out of the gate quick leading by nine only three minutes into the game. The Roos went up by 14 with 12 minutes remaining in the first for their largest lead of the game. ORU was able to cut it to eight midway through the half, but KC jumped back up by 14 with 3:06 to go. ORU managed to make it a 45-35 game at the half, despite the Roos shooting 55 percent from the field.
 
For the third-straight game the Golden Eagles scored 50-plus points in the second half. Lacis made it a four point game with a three-point jumper that was then followed by triple from McBride to make it a two point game with 14:33 to play. ORU took a one point lead when Thompson drove the basket for a layup with 12:32 to go. The Golden Eagles then went up by as much as seven before KC stormed back to tie the game and eventually took a five point lead with 4:33 left. Thompson again gave ORU a one point lead with 1:40 on the clock as the Golden Eagles would then get two stops on defense to then go up by four with 57 seconds. The Roos would make it a one point game with 13 seconds left, but free-throws down the stretch lifted the Golden Eagles to a 91-86 win.
 
The Golden Eagles shot 59 percent from the field in the second half. Overall, ORU had 41 bench points on the night. Kansas City's Evan Gilyard II was the spark the Roos needed going 11-for-22 overall and 6-for-8 from three-point range for 29 points to lead all scorers. KC went 13-for-23 from beyond the arc in the Mabee Center. Marvin Nesbitt Jr. captured a double-double with 17 points and 13 rebounds.
 
 
Turning Point
McBride hit back-to-back three-point jumpers in the second half that sparked ORU to pull to within one before Thompson took the first Golden Eagle lead of the game with 12:32 to play.  

Individual Leaders
Oral Roberts: Abmas ended the night with 19 points. Lufile had his third double-double of the season with 17 points and 15 rebounds.

Kansas City: Gilyard II had 29 points and Nesbitt Jr. grabbed 13 boards.

Inside the Box Score
- The Golden Eagles scored 42 points in the paint. ORU's bench production secured 41 points.
 
- ORU 50 percent from the field and 36.4 percent from beyond the arc.
 
- KC shot 51.6 percent overall and 56.5 percent from long range.
 
- ORU out-rebounded KC, 42-30. The Golden Eagles secured 15 offensive rebounds.
 
News and Notes
- For his 21st consecutive game, Abmas had 10-plus points.
 
- It was the third-straight game for ORU to score 50-plus points in the second half.  
 
- For fifth-straight games, ORU has had four or more players score in double-digits.
 
- It was the 300^th consecutive game for the ORU program to have made a three-point bucket in a game.

Up Next
ORU will head north to Fargo, North Dakota, to face the North Dakota State Bison Thursday, Feb. 17 at 7 p.m. inside the Scheels Center.

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.