Men's Basketball Falls In Final Minute At Oral Roberts

TULSA, Okla. - A pair of late free throws was the difference as Oral Roberts defeated TSU 65-63 Tuesday night on the road.
 
TSU jumped out to an 11-3 lead in the first half and held off several ORU charges as the Golden Eagles would draw within three points on several occasions within the first 10 minutes.
 
Ahead 20-17, four points from Kenny Hunter sparked a 7-0 run as TSU upped its margin to 27-17 at the 5:24 mark as ORU was forced to call a timeout. The Tigers would lead by as much as 13 late in the half as they would eventually enter the locker room with a 37-26 halftime lead.
 
The Tigers led by double digits for the first five minutes of the second stanza but ORU countered with a 16-3 run which spanned five minutes to tie the game at 49-all. TSU's Jonathan Cisse ended the shooting drought with a jumper to put TSU ahead 51-49 at the 8:37 mark but ORU answered with a three of its own to claim a 52-51 lead. Deon Stroud would respond with a trey to put TSU back ahead as both teams would go back-and-forth over the next several minutes as the lead changed hands five times.
 
Cisse's three-pointer with 44 seconds left gave TSU a 63-62 lead but a TSU foul put ORU on the line as they connected on two free throws to move back on top 64-63. The Tigers would miss the go-ahead jumper and ORU hit 1-of-2 free throws as TSU wouldn't get off another shot attempt.
 
Stroud led TSU with 20 points and five rebounds while Cisse and Hunter had 10 points each.
 
TSU is back in action at Drake on Saturday at 6 p.m. in Des Moines, Ia.