INDIANAPOLIS - Oral Roberts used a 15-2 run to start the second half as the visiting Golden Eagles picked off IUPUI, 78-68 inside Indiana Farmers Coliseum on Thursday night (Feb. 5). Korey Billbury led all players with 20 points, 10 rebounds and six assists and Obi Emegano added 17 points as ORU Head Coach Scott Sutton collected his 300th career win. 

Junior guard P.J. Boutte scored a career-high 19 points off the bench in the loss and sophomore Elijah Ray tallied 10 points, all in the second half. For Ray, it was his first game action in more than two weeks after suffering an injury at Omaha on Jan. 18. 

Oral Roberts (13-10, 6-3 Summit) shot a blistering 54 percent from the floor, including 66.7 percent in a 52-point second half. The Golden Eagles hit 18-of-24 second half attempts and added 18 more points at the foul line. IUPUI (8-15, 4-5) finished at just 42 percent overall in the loss. It marks the first time since early December the Jaguars have lost consecutive games. 

"They were tougher than us tonight and that's disappointing. Our effort wasn't what it needed to be. Every time we made a run at them, they came back and made shots and just made plays and we didn't always respond. We missed some layups and some free throws, but it was more than that that cost us," IUPUI Head Coach Jason Gardner said. "That was the difference in the game. Their effort and energy level was better than ours.

"We fouled them way too much. I liked our effort on some of those plays, but we still reached and fouled way too much."

While black was the optimal color of the night as IUPUI donned dark uniforms and fans wore black as part of a black out promotion, it was the Jaguars' defense that went dark during the decisive run at the start of the second half. Aaron Young opened the run by drilling a trey and Denell Henderson followed with two layups to put ORU ahead 33-25. Emegano pushed the lead to 10 with a jumper and Billbury made it 12 at the foul line. 

Senior DavRon Williams temporarily stopped the run with a bucket, but ORU countered with two quick transition baskets to build a 14-point advantage, forcing an IUPUI timeout. 

From there, each time IUPUI made a run, Oral Roberts responded with a quick, emphatic answer. Ray and Leo Svete fueled a 10-1 run, capped by a Boutte putback, but the Jaguars failed to get back on defense and Henderson got loose for an easy two-handed flush. The Golden Eagles eventually pushed it out to a 61-46 lead with 6:16 to play, but IUPUI had one last counterattack remaining. Down 11 with 2:01 remaining, IUPUI scored five quick points to make it a two possession game with 92 seconds left, including a Boutte triple. 

However, the Golden Eagles sealed Sutton's landmark victory by making 5-of-6 foul shots in the final minute. 

"I told (the guys) not to hang their heads. We have to get ready to play again on Saturday," Gardner said. "The last time we lost a tough one and had a quick turnaround, I really liked the way we responded. We know South Dakota State is a tough team, so I'll be interested in how we come out."

Henderson closed with 12 points, five rebounds and six blocked shots on a perfect 5-of-5 shooting night. Brandon Conley also finished in double-digits off the ORU bench, chipping in 12 points and six rebounds on 5-of-6 shooting. 

Senior Khufu Najee had eight points and three steals for the hosts as 11 different Jaguars played double-digit minutes and 10 scored. Freshman Aaron Brennan added seven points and both Williams and Justus Stanback tallied six each. D.J. McCall, the only IUPUI player to not score, had a team-high six rebounds and five assists in just 15 minutes of work. 

IUPUI will continue the three-game homestand on Saturday afternoon when the Jaguars host South Dakota State at 1:00 p.m. inside Indiana Farmers Coliseum. As part of 2015 Public Safety Professionals Day, the Athletics Department is inviting community members in public safety roles to come cheer on the Jaguars, free of charge. Public safety professionals may come to the Indiana Farmers Coliseum box office and show their ID for FREE tickets for themselves and their immediate family members. 

Saturday's game will be televised on HTSN and ESPN3 as Will Flemming (pxp) and Hall of Famer Bob Lovell (analyst) are on the call. Scott McCauley (pxp) will be on the call heard on WNDE 1260 AM and the free iHeartRadio app.