Box Score

HAMMOND – Damen Bell-Holter scored 25 of his career-high 35 points in the second half and Oral Roberts blistered the nets in the first half shooting 74 percent with 9-for-10 aim from behind the 3-point line in defeating Southeastern Louisiana, 86-72, in the Southland Conference opener for both teams Thursday at the University Center.

Warren Niles added 18 points for ORU (6-7, 1-0 SLC), the Southland Conference preseason favorite which was making its league debut after 15 seasons in the Summit League/Mid-Continent Conference. Shawn Glover chipped in with 13 points while D.J. Jackson came off the bench to add 11.

ORU, which snapped a three-game losing streak, shot 61 percent (31-for-51) from the floor and went 9-for-11 from behind the 3-point line to set a University Center record (81.8 percent) by an opponent.

Bell-Holter, who became the 30th player in school history to record 1,000 career points, finished 12-for-18 from the floor and 11-for-15 from the free throw line in scoring the most points by a University Center opponent since the building was opened in the 1982-83 season. The 6-foot-9 product grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds as ORU used a 17-2 run in the first half that turned a 15-14 deficit into a 31-17 lead with 7:31 remaining.

Jackson, who finished 3-for-3 from behind the 3-point line, opened the decisive run with a 3-pointer to give ORU a 17-15 lead with 11:41 remaining in the first half before Niles scored four straight points for a 21-15 lead. Both teams traded scores as Southeastern's Antonnio Benton hit a jumper and Bell-Holter sank a pair of free throws for a 23-17 lead.

After Brandon Fortenberry was called for a charging foul, wiping out a potential Southeastern bucket, Jackson drained another 3-pointer and Bell-Holter hit a jumper that gave ORU a 28-17 lead.

The Golden Eagles led 54-33 at halftime and led by as many as 25 points in the second half before Southeastern (2-9, 0-1 SLC) mounted a comeback. A 3-pointer by Southeastern's Todd Nelson capped an 11-2 run that cut the ORU lead to 73-57 with 6:56 remaining before the Lions closed to 77-67 on a pair of free throws by Roger Woods at the 3:31 mark.

But a pair of free throws and a basket by Bell-Holter pushed ORU's lead to 81-67 and the Golden Eagles were able to close out the game.

Southeastern, which made a season-high seven 3-pointers in the contest, were led by Roosevelt Johnson with 18 points and seven rebounds. Dre Evans added 15 points for the Lions while Fortenberry added 14 to increase his career point total to 1,026 and move past Freddie Lucas (1,025 points from 1971-75) for 15th place in school history.

The Lions finished 25-for-57 (43.9 percent) from the floor in the contest and 7-for-19 from behind the 3-point line. Southeastern also finished 15-for-15, marking its first perfect performance from the charity stripe since going 11-for-11 against Florida International in the 1992-93 season.

Southeastern will return to action on Saturday when it plays host to Central Arkansas (5-6, 0-1 SLC), which dropped an 83-79 decision at Nicholls State, in a 4 p.m. contest. The game will follow the Southeastern-UCA women's game that will tip off at 2 p.m. Both games can be heard in the Hammond area on KSLU-FM (90.9) and on the internet at www.LionSports.net.

Tickets are available by calling the Southeastern Athletic Ticket Office between 8-12 on Friday at (985) 549-5466 or at the University Center Ticket Office beginning at 1 p.m. on Saturday.