TULSA, Okla. – North Dakota battled back from a 14-point deficit early in the second half and tied the game on five occasions in the final minutes but fell 80-76 to Oral Roberts inside the Mabee Center on Thursday night.
Paul Bruns put together his 13th double-digit performance for North Dakota (4-15, 0-5 SL) to lead the team with 18 points.
Ethan Igbanugo was next in scoring for NoDak with 17 points, 13 of them coming in the second half alone. He also led the team defensively with two steals to go with one block.
Matt Norman buried four shots, three from deep for 11 points, while
Bentiu Panoam and
Caleb Nero each chipped in eight.
Brady Danielson cleaned the glass with a career-high 11 boards and dished out a career-best five assists while adding six points.
Tsotne Tsartsidze was next in rebounds with seven to go with six points.
Max Abmas led ORU (13-6, 7-1 SL) with 19 points, only scoring two points in the second half. Kareem Thompson was the next most productive Golden Eagle with 15 points and 11 boards.
Despite trailing by 14 early in the second half, the Fighting Hawks battled their way back into the game and finished with a 46-34 advantage on the glass. The gritty defense from North Dakota also gave the Hawks a 22-7 advantage in second chance points. Both teams controlled the ball well with only five turnovers apiece, while the Golden Eagles won the battle of points in the paint by a 48-36 margin.
The Hawks trailed 39-32 at the break and found themselves trailing 48-36 at the first media timeout of the second half, before a Norman triple capped a 12-2 UND run to trim the deficit to 50-46 with 14:15 remaining.
Both teams went on runs after that point when the Fighting Hawk defense came to life to hold ORU scoreless for 2:11 and trim the deficit to 59-56. The kelly green and white knotted the game up for the first time of the second half at the 7:50 mark at 62-62, after going on a 6-0 North Dakota run and holding Oral Roberts scoreless for another 1:44.
The back and forth game continued from that point, with UND knotting up the score for a total of five occasions late in the second half and evening the game up at 74-74 after a Danielson driving layup with 1:47 remaining.
An ORU layup put the Golden Eagles back up at 76-74 and the Hawks quickly responded with an Igbanugo layup to knot the game up once again at 76-76 with 47 seconds remaining in the game. Abmas scored his only points of the second half on the following possession to push Oral Roberts' lead to 78-76. The Fighting Hawks attempted a three-pointer with 12 seconds left and the Golden Eagles came up with the rebound and were immediately fouled.
Issac McBride drained both free throws to allow ORU to hold on for the 80-76 win.
NoDak opened the game on an 8-0 run and led 11-2 early. UND controlled most of the first half and maintained the lead for 13:50 of the opening period. The Hawks led 32-31 with 1:45 left in the first 20-minute period but a 10-2 Golden Eagle run before halftime allowed Oral Roberts to lead 39-32 at the break.
North Dakota will continue its slate on the road on Saturday at Kansas City. The Fighting Hawks and Roos are scheduled for a 7 p.m. (CT) tip-off inside the Swinney Center. The game will be available on the Roos Sports Network and aired on the Home of Economy Radio Network.
