The Basics
Score: Oral Roberts 72 – South Dakota State 83
Record: ORU (11-13), (5-6) – South Dakota State (14-11), (7-3)
Location: Frost Arena (Brookings, South Dakota)
 
BROOKINGS, S.D. – Issac McBride led three Golden Eagles in double figures, but ORU fell 83-72 at South Dakota State on Saturday afternoon.
 
Oral Roberts started the game strong, using a balanced early scoring effort to race out to a 20-9 lead in Brookings. South Dakota State responded by forcing a handful of turnovers down the stretch and the Jackrabbits found their way to a 43-37 halftime advantage. ORU started the second half by outscoring SDSU 12-6 to tie the game at the under 16 media timeout, and eventually led 63-62 with 8:24 to play. However, SDSU would go on to make the winning plays down the stretch, outscoring ORU 21-9 the rest of the way.
 
As a team, ORU shot 52% from the field in the game, but only 35% from beyond the arc. The Jackrabbits countered by also shooting 52% from the field and 10-20 from three-point range. After ORU outscored SDSU 18-7 in points off turnovers in the game in Tulsa, the Jackrabbits flipped the script in Brookings, outscoring ORU 21-11 off turnovers.
 
McBride led the scoring effort for ORU with 24 points on 8-15 field goal shooting, also adding three rebounds and two assists. Kareem Thompson followed with 14 points and a team-high five assists, and Jailen Bedford scored 12 points and led the Golden Eagles with eight rebounds.
 
South Dakota State countered with a game-high 25 points from Luke Appel, a double-double of 17 points and 12 rebounds from William Kyle III, 19 points from Zeke Mayo and 18 from Charlie Easley. ORU held the SDSU bench scoreless, with the Golden Eagle reserves outscoring their Jackrabbit counterparts 8-0.
 
ORU is now 2.5 games back of first place in the Summit League standings with the Jackrabbits reclaiming the top spot after a North Dakota loss at home on Saturday.

The Leaders
 
Oral Roberts: McBride led the Golden Eagles in scoring with 24 points shooting 8-for-15 from the floor.
 
South Dakota State: Luke Appel scored a game-high 25 point on 10-for-14 shooting.

Inside the Box Score
 
- ORU shot 34.6 percent from the three-point line.
 
- ORU shot 51.9 percent from the field.

- The Golden Eagles had 11 assists on 27 made baskets.

- Oral Roberts had 32 points in the paint and 8 bench points.
 
- McBride and Thompson played all 40 minutes in tonight's contest.
 
Up Next
 
The Golden Eagles return to the Mabee Center on Thursday, February 15th at 7:00 p.m. as they host North Dakota State.
 
For the latest information on ORU men's basketball, follow @ORUMBB on X or go to www.ORUAthletics.com. Fans can also receive updates on the team by downloading the ORU Athletics App in the Google Play or App Store.