Scheduled Game: Oral Roberts

109

GAME RESULTS 1 2 T Oral Roberts Golden Eagles 46 63 109 « FINAL TWU Spartans 44 51 95

95

Game Recap

Men's Basketball (Non-Conference game)
Monday, October 13, 2003
TWU Spartans (95) vs. the Oral Roberts University Golden Eagles (109)

Spartans Keep Up With NCAA

Langley, British Columbia - Five hundred faithful Spartan fans took a break from their turkey-filled festivities on this holiday Monday to watch their men's basketball team take on their first NCAA Division I competition. The Spartan men played tough and gave the Oral Roberts University Golden Eagles a run for their money, but finally dropped the contest 109-95 to the visitors.

It was only the second contest of the year for both squads, but the action was end-to-end and neither appeared to still be feeling the effects of a summer off. The Spartans' Adam Friesen (3rd yr, Guard, Abbotsford, BC) got his team off to a roaring start by converting a four-point play to go up 4-0 after he was fouled on a three-pointer. TWU would only maintain the lead until the 17th minute, however, relinquishing it to a Golden Eagles team that was raining threes from all around the arc. In fact, Oral Roberts lived by the three-pointer for most of the first half, seemingly unable to miss from downtown and unwilling to risk their hot streak by attempting a shot closer in. The Spartans had their own streak going, shooting 54.8% from the floor (compared to ORU's 40%), to keep the score close and finish the half only two points behind the visitors, 46-44.

Not only was it a fast-paced, fluid game, but it was also a physical contest as well. TWU was whistled for 13 fouls in the first half alone, finishing with two players who already had three fouls. The Golden Eagles had only eight team fouls at the break.

The second half opened with TWU again scoring the first basket. This time Dan Young (4th yr, Forward, Abbotsford, BC) scored the jumper, a two-pointer to tie up the score at 46. That's the closest the Spartans would get for the rest of the game, as the Golden Eagles started to gradually increase their lead.

The Spartan Faithful were boisterous throughout the night, but they erupted following the Spartans' high-flying inbounds play after a timeout. The acrobatic Dave Martens (5th yr, Guard, Abbotsford, BC) made a backdoor cut on his man and soared above the rim to catch Adam Friesen's perfectly tossed alley-oop pass and throw it down for the rim-rattling jam. The roof almost blew off the building with the noise, and it made no matter that the home team was still behind by three.

Martens proved his ability at both ends of the floor when, minutes later, an Oral Roberts player raced downcourt for what looked like an open layup following a Spartan turnover. Out of nowhere Martens caught up and timed his leap perfectly to block the layup and avoid the foul.

Unfortunately, the Spartans' foul trouble caught up with them late in the second half and they were forced to go with a smaller lineup after losing three players. The second half was even more physical than the first, with a total of 29 fouls called.

"I was happy with the game; happy that we got 11 guys playing time. We had a five-minute lapse in the second half, and you can't do that against a good team because it made it a 14-point game," commented Coach Stan Peters. "However, we've upped our play from last year's preseason. We started well last year, but we weren't playing this well against such high-calibre opponents so early in the season."

The Spartans face the University of New Mexico on Friday, October 17 at 8:00pm in their second match-up with an NCAA Div. I team. Come out and watch the ‘Men's Night' Doubleheader: TWU men's volleyball against the University of Southern California (also NCAA Div. I) at 6:30pm, followed by men's basketball at 8:00pm.

Game Notes: Both teams shot 50% or better from the field and from the 3-pt line...Adam Friesen led the Spartans with 21pts, 8 assists, 4 rebounds and 1 steal ...ORU's Ken Tutt led all players with 28 points and 2 assists on 19-20 shooting...the Spartans' 87% free throw shooting tonight ranks 5th all-time for free-throw percentage...

-TW-

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