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The Basics
Summit League Championship Semifinal
Score: (RV) No. 1 Oral Roberts 70 – No. 5 St. Thomas 65
Record: ORU (29-4, 18-0) – UST (19-14, 9-9)
Location: Sioux Falls, S.D. (Denny Sanford PREMIER Center)
 
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – For the second time in three seasons, the Oral Roberts men's basketball team will play in the Summit League Championship game after defeating St. Thomas, 70-65, Monday evening in the semifinal round in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
 
ORU's win in the semifinals of the Summit League Championship marked the 16^th-straight victory for Oral Roberts, who currently has the nation's longest winning streak. The 29 overall wins are the most wins in a season since 1989-90. Max Abmas, the league's player of the year, scored 23 points to lead his team to Tuesday's championship.  
 
It was a battle in the first half between the Tommies and the Golden Eagles. Oral Roberts won the tip and scored on the opening possession. As the half went on, St. Thomas led the game by eight with seven minutes to play. ORU went on an 8-0 run to tie the game with four minutes to play and Issac McBride scored six of the eight points. The Golden Eagle defense managed to hold the Tommies scoreless for 4:20 to tie the game. St. Thomas led, 33-32, at the break despite ORU only committing two fouls. 
 
In the second half, the Golden Eagles trailed by five with 13:39 to go before an 11-0 run that was capped off by a Carlos Jurgens three put ORU up by six, three minutes later. St. Thomas would bring it back to within one with 8:22 to play, but that would be the closest the Tommies would get for the remainder of the game. ORU would hit free-throws down the stretch and extend the lead to 10 with four minutes to play. After a pair of free-throws by McBride, St. Thomas hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to make it a five point Golden Eagle win, 70-65. ORU shot 41 percent from the field and had three score in double-figures.
 
The Golden Eagles have now won 26 of their last 27 games and improve to 29-4 on the season, their most wins in a season as a Division One program. Connor Vanover captured his fifth double-double of the season with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Vanover had five blocks on the night to put his season total at 103, tying the ORU single-season record. McBride added 14 points with three rebound and went 4-for-4 from the free-throw line.

Individual Leaders
Oral Roberts: Abmas scored 23 and Vanover had a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds.

St. Thomas: Andrew Rohde recorded 23 points and Parker Bjorklund had 15 points and 10 rebounds.

Inside the Box Score
- ORU shot 24 percent from the three-point line.
 
- ORU shot 41.4 percent from the field.

- The Golden Eagles had 10 assists on 24 made baskets.

- Oral Roberts had 32 points in the paint and seven bench points.

- ORU forced UST to nine turnovers and scored two points off those takeaways.

News and Notes
- Abmas has scored 2,524 career points which puts him 3^rd all-time in the ORU record book. He is the eighth player to record 2,000-plus points in ORU history. He's recorded 415 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 20^th-straight double-digit game. He is 2^nd all-time in points scored in the Summit League record book.

- Vanover has 103 blocks on the season and is second the nation in total blocks and in blocks per game. His 103 blocks ties the ORU single-season record.

- The 18 league wins were the most conference wins in program history.

- The 29 overall wins are the most wins in the Division One era and most for the program since 1990-91.
 
- It's the third time in program history the team has won 29 or more games.
 
- The Golden Eagles were the only team in the nation to go through conference play undefeated.

- ORU is on a 16 game win streak, the nation's longest winning streak.

Up Next
ORU will play the No. 3 seed North Dakota State Bison for the Summit League Championship and the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament Tuesday, March 7 at 8 p.m. on ESPN2.
 
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.