Box Score | Season Stats | 2022-23 Schedule

The Basics
Score: (RV) Oral Roberts 74 – North Dakota State 66
Record: ORU (25-4, 16-0) – NDSU (12-16, 9-7)
Location: Tulsa, Okla. (Mabee Center)
 
TULSA, Okla. – For the first time since 1996-97, the Oral Roberts men's basketball has gone undefeated at home after beating North Dakota State, 74-66, at the Mabee Center Saturday evening.
 
It was the final home game of the season for Oral Roberts Saturday as the Golden Eagles hosted the North Dakota State Bison on senior night. The crowd of 8,012 saw the Golden Eagles make history by going undefeated at home for the first since the Bill Self era in 1996-97. The 16^th home win ties the most wins at the Mabee Center since 1990-91. Max Abmas led ORU with 27 points as one of four Golden Eagles to record double-digits. Issac McBride scored 12, Patrick Mwamba had 11 and Carlos Jurgens added 10.
 
North Dakota State led once in Saturday's game and it was on the opening possession by two. Oral Roberts then went on an 11-0 run to lead by nine, five minutes in. Seconds later, an 11-0 run by the Golden Eagles made it a 19 point game with 11:10 to go in the first. Through the first 10 minutes, the Golden Eagle held the Bison to just nine points. NDSU wouldn't back down as the Bison went on an 11-2 run to pull to within seven with five minutes left. ORU would go back up by 10, but NDSU would pull back to within six at the half, 36-30.
 
In the second half, ORU would go scoreless for the first five minutes, but maintain its lead. NDSU would make it a one point game twice, but the Golden Eagles managed to spark a 7-0 run to go up by eight with 12 minutes to play. Patrick Mwamba sparked a fire for the Golden Eagles hitting three consecutive baskets with two being three-pointers to give ORU momentum to go up by 10. Abmas followed up with a three to lift ORU to a 56-43 lead with nine minutes on the clock. The Golden Eagles would lead by 16 before NDSU rallied again. The Bison went on a 10-0 run to make it a six point game with 3:07 to go. A four point game with 1:31 to go, Kareem Thompson made a floater in the paint to keep NDSU at arms-length and free-throws down the stretch would give ORU the 74-66 victory.
 
Oral Roberts would honored Abmas, Carlos Jurgens, Thompson, Connor Vanover and DeShang Weaver postgame, the team's five seniors. The Golden Eagles have now won 22 of their last 23. Oral Roberts improves to 25-4 on the season, its best start since 1989-90 all-time. In the Division One era, it's the best start to a season dating back to 1971-72. ORU is 16-0 in Summit League play and is one of two (Eastern Washington) teams nationally still undefeated in conference play.

Individual Leaders
Oral Roberts: Abmas had 27 points on the night and Vanover grabbed nine rebounds.

North Dakota: Grant Nelson scored 24 points and pulled down 12 boards.

Inside the Box Score
- ORU shot 28.6 percent from the three-point line.
 
- ORU shot 36.9 percent from the field.

- The Golden Eagles had nine assists on 24 made baskets.

- Oral Roberts had 24 points in the paint and 13 bench points.

- ORU forced NDSU to 14 turnovers and scored seven points off those takeaways.

News and Notes
- Abmas has scored 2,457 career points which puts him 4^th all-time in the ORU record book. He is the eighth player to record 2,000-plus points in ORU history. He's recorded 405 three-pointer made making him second all-time in ORU history in that category. He is No. 1 all-time in the Summit League in three-pointers made.

- For Abmas, it was his 16^th-straight double-digit game. He moved to 4^th all-time in points scored in the Summit League record book.

- Vanover has 94 blocks on the season and is second the nation in total blocks and in blocks per game.

- The 16 league wins are the most conference wins since the 2011-12 season.

- The 25 overall wins are the most wins for the program since the 2011-12 season.
 
- It's the sixth time in program history the team has won 25 or more games.
 
- The Golden Eagles are one of two teams in the nation (Eastern Washington) to remain undefeated in conference play.
 
- It's the first time ORU has gone undefeated at home since 1996-97.

- ORU is on a 12 game win streak, the nation's second longest winning streak.

Up Next
The Golden Eagles have their final regular season road trip beginning with a visit to Vermillion, South Dakota, to face the South Dakota Coyotes Thursday, February 23 at 7 p.m.

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.