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Craion's Last-Second Layup Lifts ORU Over Missouri, 60-59

ORUMissouri game pic

Michael Craion (Kansas City, Mo.) hit a driving layup with 0.9 seconds remaining and then intercepted the inbounds pass to help Oral Roberts rally for a stunning 60-59 win over Missouri, Wednesday at Mabee Center.

Trailing 59-58 with less than 10 seconds left, Craion took a pass from Dominique Morrison (Kansas City, Mo.) and put up a shot from the right side. The ball bounced high off the front of the rim, rattled around and fell through with less than a second remaining. After a Missouri (5-3) timeout Craion intercepted Zaire Taylor's full-court pass to seal the victory for the Golden Eagles (6-4).

After watching a 10-point lead disappear in the final moments of the first half, ORU found itself down by 11 with just over eight minutes remaining in the game. That's when Morrison took over.

The 6-foot-6 sophomore scored 10 of his game-high 21 points down the stretch, starting with a three-point play with 8:04 left that pulled the Golden Eagles within 50-42. Two Morrison free throws made it a 57-51 game with 3:38 to go.

Morrison made a jumper at 2:39 and another three-point play at 1:22, trimming Missouri's lead to 57-56.

Laurence Bowers stopped the bleeding for the Tigers when he tipped in a missed shot with 46 seconds left, upping Missouri's lead to 59-56.

But Morrison went to work again, finding Kevin Ford (Portland, Ore.) under the basket for an easy dunk and a 59-58 game with just over 10 seconds left.

Forced to foul, ORU sent Marcus Denmon to the free throw line for a 1-and-1 but he missed the first attempt, setting up Craion's winning play.

ORU led 24-14 with 4:01 left in the first half, but Missouri scored the final 12 points and held a 26-24 halftime lead.

The Golden Eagles shot 45.3 percent from the field and 9-of-12 from the free throw line. Missouri finished shooting just 40 percent but went 6-of-16 from 3-point range. The Tigers managed just three trips to the free throw line, making only one.

ORU out-rebounded Mizzou 39-32, the sixth straight game the Golden Eagles have out-rebounded an opponent.

While ORU did commit 18 turnovers against Missouri's vaunted full-court press, 11 of those came in the first half. And after allowing 13 offensive rebounds in the first half, ORU limited Mizzou to just three offensive boards in the final 20 minutes.

Morrison finished 8-of-17 from the field and made all four of his free throw attempts. He added seven rebounds and four assists. Craion scored 14 points, grabbed eight boards with three steals and two blocks. Ford chipped in 10 points and a game-high 13 rebounds.

Denmon led Missouri with 17 points, while J.T. Tiller added 13 and Justin Safford scored 10.

The Golden Eagles return to action when they visit Indiana State, 1:05 p.m., Sunday.

www.ORUAthletics.com

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