ORU grinds out overtime win at Sam Houston State
BY Staff Reports
Sunday, January 20, 2013
1/20/13 at 7:22 AM
HUNTSVILLE, Texas - Korey Billbury came off the bench to put up career-best numbers.
Shawn Glover scored nine of Oral Roberts' final 12 points of regulation, including a free throw that forced overtime with 3.7 seconds remaining.
And four ORU players scored at least 13 points for the first time this season as the Golden Eagles overcame a five-point deficit in the last two and a half minutes of regulation to snare a 65-61 triumph Saturday at Sam Houston State.
"Great, great win," ORU coach Scott Sutton said after his team secured sole possession of second place in the Southland Conference race.
Seven days earlier, Sutton questioned his team's toughness following a homecourt loss to the team - Stephen F. Austin - atop the league standings.
This time, ORU (10-8 overall, 5-1 in conference games) was tough enough to stage a road rally against a Sam Houston State squad that had won eight of its previous nine games.
"The last two minutes of regulation and the five minutes of overtime, I thought our guys out-toughed them," Sutton said. "I thought our guys showed a lot of toughness to get the game into overtime and, once we got into overtime, we jumped out to a five-point lead and couldn't extend that, but we got enough stops and rebounds down the stretch."
Sam Houston State (11-7, 4-2) was held to two field goals over the final seven minutes and did not score in the final 2:30 of regulation.
Credit Billbury for keeping ORU close enough for Glover to be a difference-maker at game's end.
Billbury, a redshirt freshman guard from Booker T. Washington, produced this stat line: a career-high 16 points, career-high eight rebounds, career-high four steals and three assists.
"I thought it was the best Korey has played since the exhibition season," Sutton said during a postgame radio interview.
ORU trailed by as many as eight points in the first half and led by as many as eight points in the second half. At one point during the opening half, Billbury was 4-of-4 from the field and his teammates were 7-of-22. He finished 4-of-5 from the field and 8-of-8 on free throws.
Warren Niles and Glover scored 17 points each. Damen Bell-Holter collected 13 points, seven rebounds and four blocks, including a rejection of Darius Gatson's drive to the basket with 27 seconds left in regulation.
Sam Houston State led 55-54 after a missed shot with 22 seconds remaining in regulation. On ORU's subsequent possession, Glover drove the paint and a foul was called on James Thomas. Glover made one free throw to clinch overtime and missed another that could have won the game in regulation.
Oral Roberts played in an overtime game for the first time since a homecourt victory over IUPUI on Feb. 9, 2012. The Golden Eagles scored the first five points of the extra period and the Bearkats (2-of-6 at the free-throw line in overtime) never got closer than two.
Original Print Headline: ORU grinds out OT road win
Men's basketball
ORU 65, Sam Houston State 61, OT
ORU up next
Vs. Lamar 7:30 p.m. Thursday
