Escaping with a seven-point victory over a Division II opponent in an exhibition game might be cause for concern for some coaches. Not Scott Sutton.
"I wasn't as disappointed as probably a lot of people thought," Sutton said. "We didn't play great by any means, but you never do in exhibition games."
The Golden Eagles did just enough to thwart East Central, 75-68. East Central even led by as many as 11 points early in the first half.
And per Sutton: so what?
"I thought it was more of East Central playing really well," Sutton said. "They were making some shots, making some tough shots."
He's certainly not bending the truth. East Central shot 55.6 percent (15 of 27) from the field and 7 of 10 (70 percent) from beyond the 3-point arc in the first half.
ORU, on the other hand, finished 26 of 60 from the field and three of 18 (16.7 percent) from deep.
"I've been a lot more disappointed after other exhibition games than I was on Monday night," Sutton said.
Some other notes from the East Central game:
- ORU, despite it being the first time out against an actual opponent, only turned the ball over nine times.
"I thought our guys did a great job of taking care of the basketball," Sutton said. "...We were also very unselfish, so there were some things to be pleased about."
- Korey Billbury, who led ORU in rebounding last season, did so again in the Golden Eagles' first exhibition game. The junior from Booker T. Washington pulled down 11 boards, including four on the offensive end.
"He's a tremendous rebounding guard," Sutton said. "It wouldn't surprise me one bit if he leads us in rebounding again."
- Billbury was 10 of 13 from the free-throw line, but the rest of his teammates were 10 of 18.
Up next: ORU hosts Rogers State Saturday at 7 p.m. Then the countdown to the Mayor's Cup matchup begins.
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