Memphis 78, Oral Roberts 63: Austin Nichols had 15 points, nine rebounds and a career-high eight blocked shots as the Tigers topped the visiting Golden Eagles.
Pookie Powell added 14 points, seven assists and six rebounds for Memphis (6-4), which notched its third straight win. Trahson Burrell scored 12 points and Avery Woodson added 10 for the Tigers, who blocked a school record-tying 15 shots and finished with a 48-34 rebound advantage.
Korey Billbury scored a game-high 21 points and grabbed seven rebounds for Oral Roberts (4-6), which fell to 0-5 on the road. The Golden Eagles, who also received 10 points apiece from Albert Owens and Obi Emegano, shot 33.8 percent from the field, including 3-of-15 from 3-point range.
Oral Roberts, which trailed by seven at the half, pulled within 56-51 on Billbury’s layup with just over 8:30 remaining. Memphis, however, turned up the defensive pressure and dominated the boards to reel off a 13-1 run over the ensuing six minutes and put the game out of reach.
The opening half was marked by dueling runs as Memphis used a 15-3 spree to turn an early 12-9 lead into a 27-12 advantage before Oral Roberts answered with a 14-2 spurt to pull within 29-26 with a little more than three minutes remaining. The Tigers, though, scored six of the final eight points of the half to take a 35-28 edge into intermission.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Memphis has now won eight straight against current Summit League teams, with the last loss coming against Oral Roberts in the 1975 NIT. … Nichols has 37 of the Tigers’ 75 blocks on the season and has 15 over the last three games. … The Golden Eagles are averaging 56.6 points and shooting 34.6 percent from the field in their five road losses.
Oral Roberts | Memphis | |
Korey Billbury 21 | Scoring | Austin Nichols 15 |
Korey Billbury 4 | Assists | RaShawn Powell 7 |
Korey Billbury 7 | Rebounds | Austin Nichols 9 |
Korey Billbury 6 | Free Throws Made | Austin Nichols 7 |
Aaron Young 2 | Steals | Avery Woodson 3 |
Albert Owens 4 | Blocks | Austin Nichols 8 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Oral Roberts | 63 | 33.8 | 3-15 | 16-21 | 10 | 28 | 6 | 7 | 11 |
Memphis | 78 | 42.6 | 5-13 | 21-25 | 13 | 44 | 15 | 9 | 14 |