CLAREMORE, Okla. - Rogers State picked up a much needed conference win Thursday night as the Hillcats bounced Oklahoma Christian 68-54 in front of 988 fans at the Claremore Expo.

Sophomore Eric Young scored 13 first half points as Rogers State jumped out to an early lead and never looked back. The Hillcats never trailed in the contest and built a double digit advantage right before halftime.

Young made a highlight reel move to the hoop to give RSU a 30-20 lead with 1:34 to play in the first half. Then, with just four-tenths of a second left in the first half, Young caught an inbounds pass from Bryson Krueger and drained a baseline jumper as time expired to send the Cats to the locker room with a 12-point advantage and all the momentum.

The Hillcats grew the lead to 18 points midway through the second half and used strong perimeter defense to stave off any chance of an OC comeback. The Eagles' Jason Taylor kept things interesting for a while as he poured in 18 second half points to finish with a game-high 23. Darrick Matthews cut the lead to eight on a conventional three-point-play with 4:14 remaining, but the Eagles wouldn't get any closer.

Back-to-back dunks by Roderick Rodgers put an exclamation point on the win for RSU, which snapped a two-game losing skid in conference play. Rodgers posted 14 points and a game-high eight rebounds. Young led RSU with 15 points and added seven boards.

The Hillcats shot 47-percent from the floor while holding OC to just under 40-percent. Taylor, who went 9-of-15 from the field, was the only Eagle player to reach double figures.

Rogers State (9-5, 4-4) won for only the second time since the holiday break. The Hillcats will host Northwestern Oklahoma State Saturday evening at the Claremore Expo. Tip-off is slated for 8 p.m. and the game will be aired live on RSU Public Television and RSU Radio 91.3 FM.