Second Half Run Moves Oral Roberts Past Men’s Basketball

A 30-9 scoring run in favor of Oral Roberts University over the final 12:24 of the game changed the outcome of the game for the Texas Southern University men’s basketball team in an 82-64 loss on Tuesday evening.

John Walker III’s fastbreak layup with 12:49 remaining gave TSU (1-3) a 55-52 lead. The Tigers would not score again for another 4:04 when Grayson Carter’s layup cut the ORU (2-2) lead down to 59-57.

After a defensive stop on ORU’s next possession, Carter made a beautiful jumper off an assist from P.J. Henry to tie the game at 59-59 with 8:12 to go.

Another unfortunate scoring drought of 4:04 all but ended any chance of the Tigers pulling of the victory at home. Down now by a 71-59 score, Davon Barnes ended the drought with a tip-in off a missed three-pointer from Henry.

The Golden Eagles then went on an 11-0 run before Carter nailed a three-pointer off an assist from Zytarious Mortle with five seconds remaining for the 82-64 margin.

What shouldn’t be overlooked, however, was the brilliant performances that Barnes and Henry had in the first half as each tallied 11 points as well as Walker III’s seven points to help keep the Tigers in the game and tied at 38-38 heading into the locker room at the half.

Henry got the scoring started for both teams just 17 seconds into the game with a brilliant three-point shot that put TSU 3-0 and was quickly followed by a made free throw Walker III at the 18:55 mark of the first half.

Henry’s jumper off a Barnes assist at the 13:35 mark of the half culminated in Barnes’ layup with 8:39 to go in the opening half. During a 14-5 TSU run, Walker III netted six points, Barnes tallied four and Henry collected two. Shaqir O’Neal also scored two points on a pair of free throws, TSU looked to have something brewing near the end of the first half when down 33-32 with 2:38 to go before intermission, Henry made a pair of free throws and 30 seconds later made a layup to go up 36-33. Kolby Granger’s made free throws gave the Tigers a 38-33 lead, but the Golden Eagles finished the half with a layup and three-point field goal for the 38-38 halftime score.

Barnes would lead all scorers with 19 points on 9-for-16 shooting from the field and 1-of-4 from long range. Barnes also hauled in eight rebounds and dished out an assist. Walker III scored 16 points to go along with seven rebounds, four blocked shots, an assist and a steal. Henry led the Tigers in assists with five to go along with his 11 points, three rebounds and a steal.
Carter just missed earning a double-double as he scooped up a team-high 10 rebounds and netted nine points on the night.
 
UP NEXT
The Tigers will stay in Houston for their next game as it’ll be across Scott Street at the Fertitta Center on the campus of the University of Houston. Tipoff between the Tigers and Cougars is scheduled for 7 p.m. CST and the game will be broadcast on ESPN+.