By Ben Helwig
(Sioux Falls, S.D.)- It was not the way the Omaha men’s basketball team expected to go out as they fell at the hands of Oral Roberts in the opening round of the Summit League Tournament.
The four-seeded Golden Eagles trounced the five-seeded Mavericks 79-52 to end Omaha’s 2019-2020 season. Omaha’s 52 points was their season low against a conference opponent.
Both teams struggled to start score in the first half as both teams shot under 37% from the floor. Neither team shot above 25% in the first half. Oral Roberts found success first as they jumped out to a 16-9 run to start the game, capped by a three-pointer by Max Abams.
Omaha battled back, cutting the lead to 21-20 after a three from KJ Robinson. Oral Roberts however scored the final bucket of the half, a buzzer-beating layup Emmanuel Nzekwesi. The Golden Eagles headed into the break with a 27-24 advantage.
The second half was a completely different story.
While both teams struggled to make buckets in the first half, Oral Roberts changed their fortunes after the halftime break.
The Golden Eagles shot 54.3% from the field in half number two, including a three point percentage of 42.9 On the flip side, Omaha’s shooting woes continued. The Mavericks only made four of their 19 attempted three-pointers, making two in each half.
Oral Roberts steamrolled their way to a double-digit margin in the early stages of the second half. They rode that momentum the rest of the game, capitalizing on interior play from Kevin Obanor and Nzekwesi and some good three-point shooting from Max Abams.
Oral Roberts controlled the tempo the entire rest of the way as they pulled out a 79-52 victory.
Abams led the way for Oral Roberts with 20 points. All six of his made field goals were behind the three point line. Nzekwesi and Obanor chipped in 13 points each, while senior Deondre Burns added 17.
Points were hard to come by for Omaha as KJ Robinson led the Mavs with 15 points. JT Gibson added 14 as the Omaha backcourt shot a combined 9-30 from the field.
Matt Pile had a career-high 21 rebounds, tying a Summit League Tournament record, but only scored two points in what was a tough day from the floor from him shooting-wise.
Oral Roberts advances to the semifinals of the Summit League Tournament where they face the number one overall seed North Dakota State.
Omaha finishes the season at an even .500 going 16-16. The Mavericks lose seniors JT Gibson and KJ Robinson, the two leading scorers for Omaha. The tandem eached joined the 1,000 career point club earlier this season.
