Jan. 29, 2005

TULSA, Okla. - Senior guard Brandon Temple tied a career high with 25 points, helping UMKC win its 10th consecutive game in defeating Oral Roberts, 88-74, at the Mabee Center Saturday (Jan. 29).

The win for UMKC, now 10-7 overall and 8-0 in the Mid-Continent Conference, gives them a two-game lead over ORU, who falls to 15-5 and 6-2. It was also the third straight triumph for the Kangaroos at the Mabee Center and UMKC's fourth win here in the last five seasons. In addition, UMKC established a league record for the best start by a current league member team at 8-0.

Temple was 7-for-14 from the field, including tying a career high with five three-pointers to lead four UMKC players in double figure scoring. Temple also was a perfect 6-of-6 from the free throw line. Senior center Carlton Aaron scored 19 points and grabbed five rebounds, while sophomore guard Quinton Day added 14 points. Freshman guard Tim Blackwell recorded 13 points, including going 7-for-7 from the free throw line.

UMKC never trailed in the game, building a lead as big as 12 points in the first half as senior forward Corey Starks hit a layup with 2:16 remaining in the half to make it 37-25. Oral Roberts then put together a 6-0 run to slice the Kangaroos' margin to 37-31 at halftime.

A three-pointer by Day with 18:39 to go gave UMKC a nine-point lead at 42-33. However, Oral Roberts fashioned a 9-1 run to get within one point at 43-42 on a Mickey Mihalec free throw with 16:17, but that was as close as the Golden Eagles could get the rest of the contest.

UMKC was nearly perfect at the free throw line in the second half, hitting 22 of 24 foul shots for a 91.7 percentage. For the game, the Kangaroos hit 23-of-27 from the line for an 85.2 shooting percentage. In addition, UMKC hit 27-of-60 field goal attempts for a 45.0 shooting percentage. The Kangaroos were 11-of-22 from behind the three-point arc in the game.

Oral Roberts was 24-for-53 from the floor for a 45.3 shooting percentage. The Golden Eagles were 5-15 on three-point shooting, and were 21-of-28 at the line. ORU committed a season-high 21 turnovers.

The Golden Eagles were led by Ken Tutt's 24 points. Caleb Green added 13 points.

Oral Roberts held a 35-31 edge in rebounding.

The Kangaroos conclude a two-game Mid-Con road swing with a trip to Rochester, Mich., on Thu., Feb. 3 to face Oakland. Tipoff for the contest is scheduled for 5 p.m. CST. The game will be televised as part of the Mid-Con TV Network package. SportsRadio 810 WHB will also air the contest.