CLAREMORE, Okla. - What started out as a basketball game quickly turned into a track meet Tuesday night inside the Claremore Expo.
 

Rogers State had more gas left in the tank down the stretch and ultimately outlasted East Central University (Ada, Okla.) to post a 107-100 victory in the final exhibition game of the season for the Hillcats. A 9-0 run with less than five minutes remaining pushed the Hillcats over the top. Sylvester Spicer and Reggie Burnett led the offensive charge for the second straight game, finishing with 27 and 26 points, respectively.
 

ECU matched the Cats tempo and intensity for much of the evening. After falling behind 17-4 in the first four minutes of the game, the Tigers came roaring back to cut the lead to one with 8:41 remaining in the first half. ECU put up an astounding 45 shots in the first half alone and trailed, 52-46 at the break.
 

The Tigers grabbed their first lead four minutes into the second period with a transition bucket by Wayne Andrews. The visitor's lead swelled to six when Eric Allen drove the lane with 13:52 remaining. Allen led ECU with 23 points on 11 of 28 shooting.
 

The lead lasted less than three minutes as Burnett scored off a turnover to tie the game at 72-72 with 11:26 showing on the game clock. Jeremy Marseille followed with a jumper to put the Hillcats back in front for good. Back-to-back steals by Maurice Rutherford sparked the 9-0 rally that put the game away in the closing minutes. Rutherford's free throw with 2:54 left gave RSU a commanding, 102-89 advantage.
 

Chris Francis contributed 13 points and a game-high six assists while Matt Kellogg chipped in with nine points. Rutherford tallied nine points and three steals before fouling out. RSU shot 51 percent from the floor while ECU countered at 44 percent. Andrews scored 18 points for the Tigers and Maurice Abraham added 21.
 

Rogers State completed its brief exhibition schedule with a perfect 2-0 record. The Hillcats will tip-off the regular season Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m. as they welcome Our Lady of the Lake University (San Antonio, Texas) to the Claremore Expo. RSU will be celebrating its third annual homecoming with a tailgate party in the Expo parking lot beginning at 11 a.m. and the Hillcat women's regular season opener at 2 p.m. The first 500 fans to enter the arena will receive a free Hillcat foam claw and the first 250 students will receive Hillcat rally hair with their student i.d.