Golden Eagles fend off Titans in overtime
The good: Well, what's not to like about ORU finally getting its first true victory. And quite impeccable timing, too.
With Summit League play bearing down on the Golden Eagles, they managed to piece together a performance worthy of winning away from the Mabee Center. (Granted, they did that against Milwaukee at the Las Vegas tournament, but we're talking true road games here.)
Obi Emegano had a career-high 31 points while going 9 of 15 from the floor, 3 of 4 from beyond the arc and 10 of 12 at the free throw line. If he continues that, he'll be the runaway Player of the Year in the Summit League.
Worth mentioning, too: Emegano played 44 of 45 minutes. Clearly his torn ACL from last season is in the rearview mirror.
"My knee is getting better with time," said Emegano, who also had five rebounds and four steals. "And as time goes on, I am gaining and becoming more confident in my knee."
That's fantastic news for ORU fans.
And the positive vibes continue.
Korey Billbury had 22 points and six rebounds against Detroit. He had seven points in overtime, including a tie-breaking 3-pointer that gave ORU the lead for good with 1:16 left. The junior from Booker T. Washington also finished 12 of 13 from the charity stripe.
Denell Henderson returned to the lineup after sitting out the Haskell game with a bum ankle. He logged two points, two rebounds and three blocks in 16 minutes.
The Golden Eagles shot 41.3 percent (19 of 46) from the field — a drastic improvement for a team that had been a woeful 34 percent from the floor in road games prior to Tuesday night.
ORU was 8 of 8 from the foul line in overtime. If you want to win in extra time, you better make the freebies. The Golden Eagles did that.
The bad: Outside of Billbury and Emegano, the Golden Eagles made 6 of 21 field goals — a not so robust 28.6 percentage. That has to get better.
ORU coach Scott Sutton has preached about other players stepping up around Emegano and Billbury, and so far, that's only happened in home games.
The Golden Eagles let a 10-point lead slip away in the final seven minutes of the game. Have to be able to tighten the screws late.
Brandon Conley had one point and five rebounds and missed a late free throw that could have won the game in regulation for the Golden Eagles. After a 12-point, eight-rebound showing against Haskell — yeah, it was Haskell, I know — Conley failed to continue his strong play. He's got to become a bigger contributor come league play.
Darian Harris and Dederick Lee didn't play against Detroit. The two were virtually non-existent against Haskell, so it's pretty obvious that Sutton is going to keep their minutes to a minimum moving forward. Foul trouble for other players may be the only avenue to those two seeing extended minutes the rest of the year.
ORU was outscored 34-14 in the paint. The Golden Eagles don't figure to dominate the paint, but Henderson and Albert Owens have to be better enforcers in the middle.
In terms of bench production, ORU was outscored 36-17 by Detroit. That, again, goes back to others stepping up around Emegano and Billbury.
The reality: A gigantic confidence boost for the Golden Eagles as they head to Fargo, North Dakota, to take on the Bison of North Dakota State.
The plane ride from Detroit to Minneapolis — and subsequent bus trip to Fargo — will be much more cheerier, and with good reason.
Sutton and players wouldn't really admit to any mounting pressure to win on the road, but it was clearly there. Knocking off the Titans at Calihan Hall was a huge release for the pressure valve.
We now know that ORU is a pretty good first-half team. Only a few first halves — Louisiana, Oklahoma — have gotten away from the Golden Eagles enough to where a comeback seemed far-fetched.
It's also apparent that ORU possess two of the best talents in the Summit League. With the duo of Billbury and Emegano, there's no reason to think ORU can't emerge from regular season play with at least a portion of the Summit League's title.
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