CANTON, Mo. - The Rogers State men responded to the loss a day prior with a dominating performance built upon strong defensive play to defeat William Woods, 75-53 in day two of the Culver-Stockton Classic on Saturday.
The Hillcats jumped to an early 12 point lead over the Owls, capped by an Alburey Doss layup off a fast break assist by Alex Ewings. Deveric Taylor led the Hillcats in scoring with 21 on the day 12 of those coming in the opening period. RSU went into halftime with the lead 36-22, after holding the Owls scoreless for the final 4:07 of the period.
RSU forced William Woods (1-7) into 13 first half turnovers turning into 20 points for the Cats. The Owls finished with 25 turnovers on the game while the Hillcats limited their turnovers to 16 for the game. RSU tallied 12 steals in the afternoon contest turning those opportunities into 30 points.
Alburey Doss and John Boyd were able to dominate the paint as the duo combined for 24 points and 14 rebounds. The Cats outscored WWU 26-12 in points in the paint for the game.
Taylor shot 3-of-6 from 3-point range as the Hillcats went 38 percent from long range as a team. Point guard Matt Kellogg dropped five dimes while only giving up one turnover and totaled 6 points on the day. Boyd fouled out of the contest with 6:07 left with a stat line of 14 points and 7 boards. Doss registered 10 points and 7 rebounds to round out the double-digit scorers for the Cats.
Senior guard Chris Francis may have stole the show with six steals on the day and dropping in nine points for the Cats. The six steals by Francis were a career high after the Cleora, Okla. native nabbed five versus John Brown in March of 2009. The mark also ties a school high matching the likes of Roderick Rodgers, Eric Young and Lance Sullivan.
The Owls had only one scorer in double figures as guard Logan Decker finished with 11 points.
Rogers State (4-2) heads back to the friendly confines of the Claremore Expo to open Sooner Athletic Conference play against John Brown University. Tip time is set for 8 p.m. with the game being broadcast on RSU Public Television and RSU Radio 91.3FM.
