TULSA, Okla. - Rogers State stood toe-to-toe with Oral Roberts for 38 minutes inside the Mabee Center Tuesday night.
 

The Hillcats matched the Golden Eagles bucket for bucket before falling short in the final two minutes. ORU scored nine of the final 13 points to hold off the Hillcats for a 74-67 win. The seven-point loss was the closest RSU has come to knocking off a Division I-A opponent in four tries.
 

A 10-0 run by the Hillcats tied the game at 58-58 with 6:12 remaining in the second half. The Golden Eagles pushed the lead back out to five before Deveric Taylor buried a three from the wing to make it 65-63 with 2:40 to play. Andre Hardy answered with a bucket at the other end and Robert Jarvis delivered the knock punch with a running jumper in the final minute. Jarvis, who led all scorers with 22 points, put ORU up 69-63 with 49 seconds to play. RSU turned the ball over on the ensuing possession and was forced to foul the rest of the way.
 

Jarvis produced more than half the offense for Scott Sutton's club in the first half. He posted 20 points before halftime, hitting 4-of-7 from behind the arc. His only points of the second half came on the final ORU field goal of the night.
 

Taylor and Spicer tallied 17 points apiece for the Hillcats. Spicer poured in 10 points in the first half to keep the Cats within striking distance, trailing 39-30 at the break. Taylor keyed RSU's second half run with 13 points. The sophomore transfer finished the night 8-for-14 from the floor.
 

The Hillcats had a shot at victory despite a poor shooting performance from the perimeter. RSU made only 2-of-14 attempts from 3-point range. However, Coach Lloyd Williams' club was a solid 77 percent from the free throw line. Aldric Reynolds set a team record by converting 11-of-11 free throws and finished with a team-high 19 points.
 

RSU matched the Golden Eagles with 41 rebounds and held ORU to just 38 percent shooting in the game. Dominique Morrison scored 15 second half points to help push ORU over the hump.

The Hillcats have played four exhibitions (two each against Oral Roberts and Oklahoma State) over the course of the last two seasons and have lost three of the four by a margin of 12 points or less.
 

Rogers State (1-0) will take a week off before returning to regular season action next Tuesday. The Hillcats will host Southeastern Oklahoma State Nov. 18 at the Claremore Expo. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. and the game will be carried live on RSU Public Television (Cox Cable Channel 19) and RSU Radio 91.3 FM.