Oral Roberts: 2022-23 Summit Men's Basketball Champions

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. -- Max Abmas had 26 points and 11 assists and Oral Roberts overwhelmed North Dakota State 92-58 in the Summit League tournament championship game Tuesday night to clinch an automatic berth into the NCAA tournament.

Reserve Patrick Mwamba scored 17 of his 20 points in the first half and Issac McBride, Connor Vanover and reserve DeShang Weaver each scored 10 points for Oral Roberts.

Oral Roberts (30-4) finished 18-0 in league play and won twice in the league's postseason tournament. It's the program's seventh NCAA tournament berth.

The Golden Eagles failed to make the NCAA tournament last year following their 2021 run to the Sweet 16, which ended with a 72-70 loss to Arkansas.

When asked what it would take to duplicate the 2021 run after beating the Bison, Abmas said, "We've got to continue the intensity that we've had in this (Summit) tournament."

Boden Skunberg scored 18 points, Andrew Morgan 13 and Damari Wheeler-Thomas 10 for the Bison (16-17).

Oral Roberts: 2021 Summit Men's Basketball Champions

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — Of course it went to the wire. Of course it was a grinder. It had to, because it was a Dave Richman-coached North Dakota State.

The only difference was this time the Bison came out on the wrong end.

Oral Roberts (16-10) won the Summit League men's basketball championship with an improbable 75-72 victory at the Sanford Pentagon, hanging on by the thinnest of threads after the Bison nearly rallied from a 25-point halftime deficit.

The Bison looked dead after a first-half flurry by the Golden Eagles left them staggered and trailing 45-20 after the first 20 minutes.

But somehow the game was tied 72-72 after NDSU's Rocky Kreuser muscled in a bank shot with 40 seconds left in the game.

ORU scored the final three points of the game, though, on a free throw by Max Abmas and two by D'Mauria Jones and the Golden Eagles snatched the Summit's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament that begins later this month.

After Abmas made one free throw for a 73-72 lead with 14.6 seconds left, NDSU's Sam Griesel backed down ORU's Francis Lacis and tried to muscle up a shot in the lane. Lacis, though, bodied up Griesel and blocked the shot. Jones got the loose ball, was fouled and made two free throws with 2.2 seconds left.

NDSU didn't get off a final shot.

Tournament MVP Abmas led the Golden Eagles with 23 points.

Kreuser scored a career-high 34 points. Tyree Eady added 15.

Given the firepower ORU possesses, including Division I's leading scorer in Abmas, it seemed unlikely it would be close late in the game.

Led by a 17-point outburst by Kevin Obanor the Golden Eagles overwhelmed the Bison in the first half. The Bison led 10-9 with 12:25 left before ORU began draining 3-pointers and NDSU continued to miss almost everything. Obanor scored 13 points in a five-minute stretch that stretched ORU's lead from 12-10 to 25-12.

Abmas got in the act with a couple of baskets, including a traditional three-point play with 4 minutes left that gave the Golden Eagles a 37-16 lead.

By the time Carlos Jurgens drained a 3-pointer from the corner as time was winding down in the half, ORU had a 45-20 lead.

The game looked over.

It wasn't. Not even close.

Aided by ORU's decision to take quick shots, fewer of which went in than the first half, the Bison chipped away. By the time Kreuser made a leaner in the lane with 7:30 remaining, the Bison had their deficit to single digits at 58-49. A Grant Nelson dunk with 5:30 left pulled the Bison within 63-56.

ORU stretched the lead back to 10 on a pair of three throws and a three-point play by Abmas. But Kreuser's three-point play made it 68-66.

ORU again padded the lead to make it 72-68 with 56 seconds left, but Grant Nelson scored a layup with 45 seconds and was fouled, missed the free throw, but it was rebounded by NDSU. Kreuser scored off the glass with 40 seconds left to tie it 72-72.

It was the end of a surprising season for the Bison (15-12). They lost their top two players, Tyson Ward and Vinnie Shahid, after winning last year's Summit championship. But getting unexpected support from true freshmen Grant Nelson and Dezmond McKinney to help veterans Kreuser, Griesel and Eady

The Bison were seeking their fourth NCAA berth under Richman, including their third straight.

ORU (16-10): Obanor 8-13 2-3 21, Jurgens 3-9 1-1 8, Thompson 5-11 1-1 12, Lacis 1-5 0-0 3, Abmas 7-17 8-10 23, Weaver 2-6 0-0 6, Stevens 2-6 0-0 6, Jones 0-0 2-2 2. Totals 26-62 14-17 75.

NDSU (15-12): Cook 2-8 0-1 5, Harden-Hayes 0-1 0-0 0, Eady 6-9 3-3 15, Kreuser 11-20 9-10 34, Griesel 1-12 3-4 6, McKinney 1-3 0-0 3, Knotek 1-2 0-0 3, Skunberg 0-0 0-0 0, Wilson 1-2 0-0 2, Nelson 2-7 0-1 4. Totals 25-64 15-19 72.

Half: ORU 45, NDSU 20. 3-point goals: ORU 9-29 (Obanor 3-4, Jurgens 1-3, Thompson 1-5, Lacis 1-4, Abmas 1-6, Weaver 2-6, Stevens 0-1), NDSU 7-16 (Cook 1-2, Eady 0-1, Kreuser 3-7, Griesel 1-1, McKinney 1-2, Knotek 1-2, Nelson 0-1). Total fouls: ORU 16, NDSU 18. Fouled out: Obanor. Rebounds: ORU 37 (Obanor 9, Jurgens 9), NDSU 42 (Griesel 11). Assists: ORU 14 (Abmas 7), NDSU 16 (Griesel 7). Turnovers: ORU 9 (Lacis 2, Abmas 2), NDSU 11 (three players with 3).

You don’t have to be rich to make a mean-ass burger!

No. Seriously. Just ask a humble guy by the name of Tommy Koulax. It was decades ago that he decided to make a commitment to make the finest burgers and hot dogs and fries in the Los Angeles area. His idea became a reality with The Original Tommy’s hamburger and hot dog chain. Before the baseball game with Oral Roberts on Thursday, I decided to make my annual ritual to the Tommy’s in Long Beach to savor a Tommyburger, which was laced with their special chili. I do this once per year, in the middle of my university’s baseball season, preferably in the first week of April, when the cherry blossoms flow down.

I should have taken a photo of the sketch of Mr. Koulax. This guy knew how to run a fast food chain. No franchising. Word-of-mouth advertising. Not spreading too far in the hopes of finding stability and not close part of the chain. He had savvy. And a famous slogan to go with it: “If You Don’t See The Shack…Take It Back!”

In a city where competing chains like McDonald’s, Burger King, and (my home base) Carl’s Jr. (only because they have one on campus) lock heads with other chains to find the right customers, there are some local chains that don’t believe in trying to spread worldwide. The Original Tommy’s is an example of this. It’s akin to the City of Lakewood government: Times Change. Values Don’t.

As I watched the game, I was not disappointed. Oral Roberts just disposed of Wichita State, a team who we lost two out of three to. Dr. Dan, a local supporter of the Dirtbags, as well as the author of the Diamond Dust blog and baseball insert, called for Mike Weathers’ crew to go back to the fundamentals. In spite of giving up an error, the Beach was able to play a solid game through Andrew Liebl, an ace from Livermore up in the Bay Area, and the Bags won 4-0. I think it was a good move not to risk Bryan Shaw choking like he did in the third game against Fullerton. By doing so, he avoided getting his closer risking some more scathing remarks, should he do it two home games in a row. In the pros, I think he would called down, and reassigned.

Speaking of which, the minors got going. While the Los Angeles Angels dropped their first match of the year to those loathsome scum from that cesspool of the Bay known as Oakland, their Triple-A affiliate, the Salt Lake Bees, edged the Las Vegas 51s, 4-3. Ironically, the Angels lost by that same score.

One more thing: the 51s are affiliated with the Dodgers, and they are not starting in the right auspices. Still early, though. And I will bet you that Matsuzaka-mania will die quicker than it started. Maybe not now, but somewhere later this season.