CLAREMORE, Okla. - Rogers State men's basketball held onto a win versus Northwestern Oklahoma State University 80-77 inside the Claremore Expo on Thursday night.
The Hillcat men jumped out to a nine point lead nine minutes into the match capped off by a 3-pointer by senior guard Matt Kellogg. RSU extended the lead to 14 with just over two minutes remaining in the first period off a 3-point basket by Chris Francis. Heading into half time the Cats led the Rangers, 42-31.
RSU (5-4, 1-1) was able to stretch the lead to a game high 18 points off a Taylor field goal with 12:19 remaining putting the score at 57-39. But the Rangers responded with an 11-0 run stretching four minutes and capped off by a Devondrick Walker 3-pointer cutting the Hillcat lead to 60-53 with eight minutes remaining.
NWOSU (6-2, 1-1) stuck around and slowly chipped away cutting the Hillcat lead down to 3 with 51 seconds remaining on Eze Akwari's lone basket of the night. The Rangers traded Hillcat free throws for NWOSU buckets and were down by two with 3.3 seconds remaining.
The Cats were able to get an inbounds pass to Francis who was immediately fouled and made the second of two bonus shots putting the score at 80-77 in favor of RSU. A turnover by NWOSU on the inbound attempt down court gave RSU the ball with 2.2 seconds left on the clock. But the Cats turned the ball over giving the Rangers one last shot but the Brandon Harris attempt from half-court fell short giving RSU the victory in a game that never saw NWOSU claim a lead.
RSU benefitted from 23-of-30 shooting from the charity stripe while knocking down 54 percent from the field. The Rangers shot 46 percent from the field but only made seven trips to the free throw line shooting 71 percent.
Rogers State was led by a strong offensive output by senior forward John Boyd, as the Wagoner, Okla. native finished with 26 points dropping 17 in the first period.
Francis and Kellogg along with reserve Deveric Taylor played over 34 minutes apiece in the down to the wire contest. Taylor tallied 19 points coming off the bench while starters Francis and Kellogg both dropped 11 points on the night.
Orren Tims led the Rangers with 22 points while front court mate Jonathan Freemyer added 12 points. Marshall Bell went 5-of-8 from behind the arc for 15 points. Daryl Glover finished off the double-digit scorers for the Rangers with 10 points while nabbing two steals.
Rogers State heads on the road Saturday, Dec. 4, for the first road trip in Sooner Athletic Conference play as the Hillcats face Oklahoma Christian in Edmond, Okla. Tip-off is set for 8pm with the game being broadcast live on RSU Radio 91.3FM.
