GAME NOTES: In the championship round of the MGM Grand Main Event, the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles take on the Milwaukee Panthers on Wednesday afternoon.

Since posting a 77-68 win over cross-town rival Tulsa in the season opener, Oral Roberts has failed to get in the win column, dropping three straight games, including a 76-52 setback versus Louisiana on Tuesday night. The Golden Eagles will play Weber State on the road in their next outing.

Milwaukee survived a run in with Louisiana on Monday to push its way to this part of the tournament. The 56-52 win ended a two-game slide for the Panthers, who are just 2-3 overall. They will return home for four of their next five games, with the stretch highlighted by a bout against No. 2 Wisconsin.

Oral Roberts has won all four previous meetings between these squads, although the last one occurred during the 1979-80 season (91-80).

It was a rough night for Oral Roberts against Louisiana, especially on the interior. The Golden Eagles had deficits of 42-34 and 36-22 in rebounds and points in the paint, respectively. They also shot a miserable 26.8 percent from the field, including a 3-of-18 showing from beyond the arc.

Denell Henderson seemed to be on his own down low, posting a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Korey Billbury netted 13 points in support, but he connected on just 4-of-16 shots. Obi Emegano, who was averaging 21 points per game entering Tuesday's duel, finished with only nine points on 1- of-6 shooting, dropping his scoring average by three points (18 ppg). Billbury (12.3 ppg) is the only other double-digit scorer on the roster, but he is sinking only 26.7 percent of his field goal attempts.

Matt Tiby put the Panthers ahead with a layup with less than a minute to play and then hit two of the team's four free throws down the stretch to help lift Milwaukee to Monday's win. Tiby finished with eight points and eight rebounds, but it was Steve McWhorter who led the way to victory, posting a double-double consisting of 18 points and 10 rebounds. The Panthers made up for a 37.4 percent shooting effort in the game by limiting the Ragin' Cajuns to 33.3 percent.

Rather than rely on just one or two big-time scorers, the Panthers have spread the wealth, although McWhorter (15.6 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 4.2 apg) has been stuffing the stat sheet, leading in points, rebounds and assists. J.R. Lyle (10 ppg) is the second scorer on the team, but there are four other players averaging at least 7.5 points per game. Tiby (8.4 ppg) is part of that group, although he has only made 37.5 percent of his field goal tries. Akeem Springs (8.6 ppg, 5.2 rpg) is another player who could be scoring more frequently if he improved his shooting (.302 FG percentage).

The Panthers have had an extra day to rest between games, and that may just be the difference in this one. Expect a better effort from the Golden Eagles, but one that ultimately ends in defeat.