ORU vs Utah State Stories...

[ORUTerry]

Here is the story from the ORU Athletic Department web site:

LOGAN, Utah?Utah State?s David Pak made a pair of free throws with 4.4 seconds remaning to give the Aggies a 65-64 win over Oral Roberts University, Tuesday at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum.

Pak was sent to the line when ORU?s Larry Owens (Mesa, Ariz.) was whistled for a reach-in foul some 40 feet from the basket. Pak, who had begun to lose control of the ball when Owens was called for the foul, sank his first two free throw attempts of the season for a 65-64 lead. ORU (5-5) had one last chance but Eric Fowlkes? (Milwaukee, Wisc.) 3-point attempt was off the mark and Utah State (5-3) -- which has lost just nine home games over the last eight seasons -- escaped with the win.

ORU trailed by as many as 18 points in the first half, and was down 36-20 at halftime. But thanks in large part to Ken Tutt?s (Garland, Texas) best game of the season the Golden Eagles were able to make a game of it in the second half.

The Golden Eagles opened the second half with an 11-3 run, cutting Utah State?s lead to 39-31 on a Tutt 3-pointer with 16:17 to play. Consecutive free throws by Tutt, a short jumper by Caleb Green (Tulsa, Okla.) and three-point play by Fowlkes put ORU within 43-38 with 11:51 left in the game.

Green?s layup with 11:15 to go put ORU within 44-40, the closest the Golden Eagles had been since opening minutes of the game. An offensive rebound and layup by Moses Ehambe (Arlington, Texas) followed by another basket from Green made it 48-46 Utah State with 7:40 to go.

Utah State maintained a 2-6 point lead over the next three minutes, until Tutt heated up. With ORU down 56-50 with 4:33 left, Tutt led the way during an 11-7 run, scoring nine points (all on three?s) and putting ORU within 63-61 with 1:20 to play.

After Utah State?s Nate Harris missed a pair of free throws with 44 seconds remaining Tutt, who has six final-minute, game-winning shots in his career, appeared to put number seven in the books as he drained a 25-footer from the right wing for a 64-63 lead with 31 seconds left, ORU?s first lead since the opening basket of the game.

The Aggies misfired on their next possession and Fowlkes was fould on he rebound with 9.7 seconds to play, but missed the front end of a one-and-one trip to the line, setting the stage for the ending.

ORU, after shooting just 22.9 percent in the first half, shot 54.8 percent (17-31) from the field in the second half. ORU dominated the glass, out-rebounding Utah State 43-30.

Tutt enjoyed one of the finest offensive games of his career, scoring a season-high 29 points on 9-of-20 shooting, including a career-best seven 3-pointers. Tutt was also a perfect 4-for-4 from the free throw line and had two steals in 38 minutes.

Green scored his fifth double-double of the season with 14 points and a season-high 14 rebounds to go with three assists and a career-high three blocks, but was just 6-of-17 from the field. Owens chipped in with eight points, 10 rebounds, four assists and two steals.

Carroll led Utah State with 17 points, while Pak added 16.

The Golden Eagles are off for the Christmas holidays and return to action at Oklahoma, 7 p.m., Wednesday, December 28.

--ORU--

Game Notes:

ORU played its third straight game without a full compliment of players ? ORU played just seven players as Jonathan Bluitt and Chris Riouse both missed their third straight games with injury and Andrew Meloy missed his second straight due to an injury ? ORU also was minus freshman forward Marchello Vealy who was suspended for one game prior to the road trip ? Green?s double-double was the 36th of his career ? Tutt?s seven 3-pointers were the most by an ORU player since Riouse sank seven against Oakland on Jan. 20, 2005 in Tulsa.

[ORUTerry]

Questions abound in Eagle loss

By Staff Reports

12/21/2005

Controversial call gets Utah State a pair of game-sealing free throws.

LOGAN, Utah -- Scott Sutton wouldn't say his Oral Roberts basketball team was robbed, but did allow that an official's call decided Tuesday's 65-64 loss at Utah State.

The Golden Eagles rallied from an 18-point deficit to lead 64-63 on Ken Tutt's seventh 3-pointer with 25 seconds left.

But ORU's Larry Owens was called for fouling David Pak 30 to 40 feet from the Aggies' basket with 4.4 seconds left, and Pak made his first two free throws of the year.

"It's an unfortunate situation when an official makes a call 40 feet from the basket that decides the game," Sutton said on a post-game radio report.

Sutton said he had a "darn good angle" on the play and "it looked like Larry tipped the ball, but sometimes you get that call on the road."

ORU senior guard Eric Fowlkes missed the front end of a 1-and-1 with 9.8 seconds left.

Two free throws would have given the Eagles a three-point lead.

Utah State's Nate Harris rebounded the miss by Fowlkes and got the ball to Pak, who was dribbling in the middle of the court when Owens was called for his foul.

Fowlkes missed a shot as time expired and ORU fell to 5-5.

But Sutton was encouraged that the Eagles played a sensational second half after being embarrassed in two of their previous three games.

Tutt, shooting under 40 percent on the season, made six second-half 3-pointers and finished with 29 points, one shy of a career high.

Caleb Green had 14 points and 14 rebounds for his fifth double-double of the season.

Jaycee Carroll scored 17 and Pak added 16 to lead the Aggies (5-3).

Pak scored 14 in the first half, hitting his first four 3-pointers to shoot the Eagles into a 34-16 hole.

ORU, playing again without three injured seniors, had to have a sensational second half to make up for a dreadful first half.

The Eagles missed nine of their first 10 shots and were down 15-5 in less than six minutes.

They finished the half shooting 23 percent (8-of-35).

[ORUTerry]

Down to the wire

By Shawn Harrison

Ags blow 18-point lead, but rally to beat Eagles behind Pak?s free throws

Redemption.

Aggie point guard David Pak got it Tuesday night at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum, and he seized the opportunity. Pak sunk two free throws with 4.4 seconds left in the game to give Utah State a thrilling 65-64 win over Oral Roberts.

Pak?s foul shots were the first ones he?s attempted this season. Was the senior guard nervous?

?No, I?ve been shooting free throws all year in practice, getting ready,? Pak said. ?I didn?t shoot too good of a percentage last year. I wanted to be ready, and they came at a pretty important time. Fortunately, I was able to knock them down.?

It was very fortunate for the Aggies (5-3), who let a big first-half lead slip away over the final 20 minutes. The Golden Eagles (5-5) just kept clawing their way back into the game.

Pak, who made just 54.8 percent of his free throws last year, had a chance to win a game against Pacific last season at the foul line. He missed, and the Tigers left Logan with a victory.

?Oh yeah, first thoughts,? said Pak, when asked if he remembered Pacific. ?I just didn?t want to let the team down and everyone again. I just felt confident going up there and knocked them down.?

It proved to be the difference. The one-point win broke a string of seven straight defeats by a single point for the Aggies, dating back to the 2002-03 season.

?The good thing is you (the media) can?t write about how many one-point games we?ve lost in a row, and I know you would have,? USU head coach Stew Morrill quipped.

It was looking bleak for the home team down the stretch. Oral Roberts? Ken Tutt warmed up and was stroking long-distance shots, sinking four in the final four minutes of the game. Tutt finished with a game-best 29 points.

?We knew Ken Tutt shot 3-pointers, and honestly he made some tough threes,? said Aggie guard Jaycee Carroll, who led USU with 17 points. ?He made threes with guys flying at him, threes with guys in his face, so just give him credit for shooting the heck out of it tonight.?

Tutt gave the Golden Eagles just their second lead of the night, 64-63, with his seventh trey of the evening with 30 seconds to play. Chris Session had a hand in his face, but it didn?t bother Tutt at all.

Carroll then had a 3-point attempt rattle out, and the Golden Eagles? Eric Fowlkes grabbed the miss and was fouled. Fowlkes missed the front end of a one-and-one with 9.7 seconds to play. USU?s Nate Harris pulled down the rebound and found Pak.

Pak had just crossed midcourt and was heading to the right side when Larry Owens fouled the Aggie guard.

?I couldn?t believe that he fouled me,? said Pak, who finished with a season-high 16 points. ?I don?t think he had to, but he did. It cost them the game.?

Oral Roberts did have one last chance, but Fowlkes couldn?t get a shot off before the horn sounded. Pak jumped into several teammates? arms.

?You can see why that was a pretty good win at Oral Roberts to open the season (on Nov. 19),? Morrill said. ?We just hung on for dear life.?

Joining Carroll and Pak in double-figure scoring were Harris (13) and Cass Matheus (10). Matheus pulled down a team-best 11 rebounds for his first career double-double.

?I thought Pak and Cass played very, very well,? Morrill said.

Caleb Green scored 14 points and grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds for the Golden Eagles. Oral Roberts outrebounded USU, 43-30, getting 21 offensive boards.

?Obviously, we are going to have to get better at rebounding the basketball,? Morrill said.

?It?s kind of embarrassing how many offensive rebounds they got,? Carroll said. ?I?m sure coach will tell us what we are doing wrong and get us going.?

There was more thrill than most Aggie fans would have dreamed of after watching the first half. USU built an 18-point lead and took a 36-20 advantage into halftime.

Oral Roberts scored the first points of the game, but then USU responded with a 19-2 run as Pak scored 11 straight points during one stretch, including back-to-back-to-back 3-pointers.

?They sagged off me, left me open,? Pak said.

And, he made the visitors pay. It was a good thing, because the end of the first half got a bit wild with missed shots and turnovers by both teams. Neither team scored over the last two minutes.

It seemed to carry over to the start of the second half for USU. Pak got accidentally poked in the eye early in the second and sat for more than four minutes. The Aggies went the first 5:24 of the final half without a field goal and 7:31 overall, counting the end of the first half.

Harris ended the drought, as he and Carroll would combine for 24 of USU?s 29 points in the second half.

The Golden Eagles got to within two points on five occasions before taking their brief lead.

?Our guys did a nice job of coming out in the second half and staying in the game,? Oral Roberts coach Scott Sutton said. ?We just kept pushing and ended up making it a game.?

Yes, they did. But in the end, Pak stepped to the line and was money for USU.

?When it?s all over, it?s a W,? Morrill said.

And, just what the Aggies needed before facing in-state rival BYU on Thursday in the Spectrum.

Game notes: USU improved to 32-7 over the last seven years following a a loss and has won 33 straight at home against non-league opponents. ... Pak had a career-high three steals. ... This was the third of seven straight road games for Oral Roberts. ... The 43 rebounds Oral Roberts had were the most an Aggie opponent has had since UCLA had 47 in the second round of the 2001 NCAA Tournament.