TULSA, Okla. - Top seeded Oral Roberts raced out to an early double-digit lead and never looked back, rolling to a 75-54 win over IUPUI in the semifinals round of the Mid-Continent Conference Tournament at the John Q. Hammons Arena at the UMAC.
IUPUI (15-15) shot a season-low 29.2 percent from the floor and connected on just 14 field goals, while Oral Roberts connected at a 45.8 percent clip.
"I give Oral Roberts credit," IUPUI head coach Ron Hunter said. "They did what they needed to do."
More specifically, the Golden Eagles (22-10) surged out of the gates and took control of the game in front of a crowd filled with ORU fans. By the time IUPUI finally got on the scoreboard on a Jon Avery reverse layup, Oral Roberts had already claimed a 11-0 lead. Later in the half, IUPUI was held scoreless for 6:28 as the Golden Eagles scored eight unanswered points to push the lead to 26-7.
By halftime, ORU had built a 37-16 advatage.
The Jaguars shot just 5-of-26 (19.2 percent) from the field in the first half, including going 1-of-9 from three-point range. Meanwhile, their counterparts enjoyed a 51.9 percent first half and forced 11 IUPUI turnovers.
IUPUI got no closer than 15 at any point in the second half.
Senior David Barlow finished his college career with a team-high 16 points, including hitting 4-of-5 at the foul line. Sophomore Gary Patterson added 12 points, while Austin Montgomery had 11, but hit just 1-of-8 from the floor.
Mid-Con Player of the Year Caleb Green finished with a game-high 25 points and hit 9-of-10 at the charity stripe. Shawn King chipped in 14 points and eight rebounds in 20 minutes in the middle.
Oral Roberts outrebounded IUPUI 41-30 overall and committed just 10 turnovers. IUPUI was bothered into 14 turnovers in the contest.
In the postgame press conference, Hunter shifted the conversation to the success of his team this year, despite the loss of All-Conference guard George Hill in the season's second game.
"I'm proud of my kids," Hunter said. "I heard people predict us to finish as low as six, seven or eight when George (Hill) went out.
"We feel like we'll have the best player in the league, when Caleb (Green) leaves. But this was really hard on George. He loves those seniors. He could've played the past three weeks, but the decision was made to bring him back for two full years."
Including Hill, IUPUI is slated to return nine players from this year's squad, three of which were starters. Montgomery was named the league's Newcomer of the Year this season, while Patterson joined him on the five-man All-Newcomer Team.
"With Oral Roberts losing Green and Tutt, I fully expect us to be at the top of the pack next year. We had a great season this year, but it's hard for me to sit up here and be upset because we're going to be really, really good next year."
