CLAREMORE, Okla. - Rogers State put on another shooting clinic at the Claremore Expo to the demise of the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma (Chickasha, Okla.) as the Hillcats posted an 81-70 home victory Thursday night in front of 936 fans.
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The second-ranked Cats shot 56 percent from the floor and made a mindboggling 77 percent of their 3-point attempts. RSU entered the contest with the second best team 3-point shooting percentage in all of NAIA Division I basketball. Thursday's 10-for-13 effort from behind the arc upped the team's long distance accuracy to 45 percent for the season.
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Seven different Hillcats registered at least one trey, led by Deveric Taylor's 3-for-4 performance. RSU trailed 14-8 in the early going before Taylor connected from downtown three times in the span of two minutes and 12 seconds. Matt Kellogg added a deep 3 right before the halftime buzzer to give the Cats a 46-33 advantage at the break.
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USAO opened the second half on a 7-0 run and managed to stay within striking distance for most of the second half. Tim Nelson hit four second half 3s for the Drovers to finish with 15 points. Nelson's wing three with 14:53 left to play made it a three point game, 54-51.
Roderick Rodgers responded with a strong second half showing for the Hillcats. His 3-point-play with 11:06 remaining pushed the lead back to 10. Rodgers poured in 13 points over the final 11 minutes of the game to keep the Drovers at arm's length. The Dallas native finished with a team-high 17 points to go along with seven points and five assists.
Rashaad Singleton led USAO with 20 points despite shooting just 5-of-18 from the floor. Abram Donlon joined Rodgers and Taylor in double figures with 12 points and also hauled in eight rebounds. RSU committed only two turnovers in the first half and finished with 17 assists and 10 turnovers.
Rogers State (16-1, 10-1) remains in first place in the Sooner Athletic Conference standings following the victory. The Hillcats travel to Bethany, Okla., Saturday to face Southern Nazarene. Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m. and the game will be carried live on RSU Radio 91.3 FM.
