Another abysmal 2nd half, another ORU road loss — the good, the bad and the reality

The good: This category requires some intense brain massaging, because positives from ORU's 52-45 loss at Missouri State were few and far between.

The Golden Eagles pretty much dominated the first half inside JQH Arena, and that's always a good thing. ORU was the proud owner of a 31-21 halftime advantage after shooting 44.4 percent (12 of 27) from the field in the first 20 minutes. 

It was down hill from there. Both Obi Emegano and Bobby Word scored 12 points, but they needed a combined 23 shot attempts to get to those marks. 

The bad: The second half. Just put that audio track on repeat. That's how bad it was.

The Golden Eagles have been horrific in the second half of road games, but at Missouri State, ORU managed a season-low 14 points in the second half. Yes, fourteen. A measly, futile 14 points.

ORU can count on beating absolutely no one with 14 points in a half.

Shooting 17.4 percent (4 of 23) is astonishingly bad. Add a whooping zero 3-pointers made on nine attempts. All that makes 6 of 9 at the foul line look glorious.

Basically, ORU couldn't get a shot to fall. The Golden Eagles' last field goal came at the 10:02 mark. That's crushing.

Also, Korey Billbury is a solid basketball player, but he had a bad night against Missouri State. The former Booker T. Washington standout had only four points with four turnovers in 23 minutes of game time. Probably should have seen it coming after he picked up a foul only a few seconds into the game.

The reality: It's a harsh one, but ORU is a mentally weak basketball team in the second half of games away from the Mabee Center. It's virtually unexplainable.

The Golden Eagles have a collection of players - Emegano, Word, Billbury, Brandon Conley, Denell Henderson, Albert Owens - that I think are able-bodied and extremely competent. But for whatever reason, the core of the team isn't meshing right now.

Head coach Scott Sutton has altered his lineups. He's tried different units on the floor together. He's tightened his rotation and cut back minutes on Jabbar Singleton, Dederick Lee and Darian Harris. He's preached to his guys about mental toughness and being accountable.

But for whatever reason, the car is all revved up but no one is behind the wheel.

Someone has to take ownership of the team and solidify ORU as a Summit League favorite, because as of right now, the Golden Eagles are looking at going about .500 in league play. That will be followed by maybe a win in the league tournament and then a stark exit in the semifinals to cap off an underwhelming season.

Here's where ORU stands: it's 251st (out of 351) in the RPI rankings. The Golden Eagles are 4-7 (three of the four wins coming underneath the Mabee Center roof).

Bottom line: ORU has to be better outside of the Tulsa area. It's a team probably as talented as any other in the Summit League, but if all the puzzle pieces are just haphazardly scattered about, it's going to be hard to tell what the ultimate picture is.

Somehow, some way, ORU has to figure out a way to be a cohesive unit on the road.