SILOAM SPRINGS, Ark. - Rogers State suffered its first-ever loss to John Brown as the Golden Eagles picked up an 85-75 victory over the sixth-ranked Hillcats to open Sooner Athletic Conference play Tuesday in Siloam Springs, Ark.
 
RSU played from behind virtually the entire night and couldn't overcome the Eagles stellar free throw shooting in the closing minutes. JBU knocked down 13 consecutive shots from the charity strip in the final 90 seconds to seal the 10-point win. Reigning Sooner Athletic Conference Player of the Week Devaughn Jackson led all scorers with 25 points.
 
The game was nip and tuck throughout with the Hillcats constantly clawing at the Eagles' heels. Deveric Taylor knocked down a long wing three in the last minute of the first half to bring RSU to within one. Adrian Miller answered with a put back bucket for JBU as time expired, sending the Eagles to the locker room with a 34-31 advantage.
 
The Hillcats drew even on a driving layup by Lance Sullivan early in the second half and retied the game three minutes later on a 3-point play by Reggie Burnett. Chris Francis gave RSU its only lead of the night at 49-48 with a floater in the lane with 10:30 remaining in the game. However, JBU followed with six straight points and refused to give up the lead over the final 10 minutes.
 
Sullivan pulled RSU to within three with a trey at the 2:23 mark. Jackson and Burnett traded buckets and the Cats still trailed by just one possession with 1:40 to play. The Golden Eagles went to work at the free throw line from that point. Jackson led a host of JBU players who combined to hit 23 of 27 attempts from the line in the second half.
 
Burnett led the Hillcats with 21 points and nine rebounds while Sullivan poured in 16 of his 20 in the second stanza. Chris Francis was the only other RSU player to reach double figures with 11 points. The Cats shot 47 percent from the floor and connected on nine 3-pointers. The game was ultimately lost in the trenches as the Golden Eagles outrebounded RSU by 12 and scored 21 second chance points.
 
Rogers State (3-2, 0-1) lost its conference opener for the first time and fell to 5-1 all-time against John Brown. The Hillcats will travel to San Antonio, Texas, this weekend to face Our Lady of the Lake University Saturday afternoon. Tip-off is scheduled for 3 p.m.