The Lion’s basketball team fell short at Oral Roberts University against the Golden Eagles this previous Saturday of Feb. 8 which was Oral Robert’s homecoming night at the Mabee Center. The Lions faced the Golden Eagles amongst a homecoming crowd of 6,035 and the game ended with a final score of 71-54.
For Oral Roberts (12-12, 6-5 SLC) this would be the second game in a row whereas the Golden Eagles led throughout the whole game, which resulted in a loss against Southeastern (9-13, 4-7 SLC).
Lion Head Coach, Jim Yarbrough had faith in his team, and although it was tough in the first half, he believed the team had the strength to stick it out during the game.
“With turnovers and big pushes throughout the first half of the game, the team began to panic,” said Yarbrough. “My goal is to let us play well and earn enough wins so that the team won’t lose confidence. We’re still a team and we’ll find our consistency again in order to play well.”
Struggling offensively in the first half, the Lions scored 7-of-31 shots, equaling to a 22.6 percentage. The Golden Eagles held the Lions without a field goal during the first 7:55 of the game. Oral Roberts became aggressive with six free throws which boosted their score to a 13-point lead over Southeastern with only 7:54 to play in the first half.
Long jumper by junior guard Julian Chiera brought Southeastern to 18 points at halftime, with Oral Roberts score of 33 putting the Golden Eagles in the lead. However, Oral Roberts was quick to find a way to put Southeastern in a tough spot.
While the team did suffer a loss against Oral Roberts, Yarbrough plans to strategize for the their next competition against McNeese on Thursday night.
“We plan to have better offense, plan to get more rebounds and with defending the ball,” said Yarbrough. “With playing McNeese previously in the season, we’ll find that drive to go towards our win on Thursday night.”
Lead scorers were senior guard Dre Evans with 13 points and junior forward, Onochie Ochie with 12 points and six rebounds. Senior forward, Antonnio Benton chipped in nine points along with four blocks.
The Lions will face the McNeese State Cowboys on Thursday, Feb. 13 at 7 p.m. at the University Center. Lions will also return to the University Center on Feb. 15 at 5 p.m. to face off against Nicholls State.
The schedule and more information on the team can be found online at www.lionsports.net.