CLAREMORE, Okla. - Rogers State men's basketball came away with an 85-75 victory over Oklahoma Christian Thursday night at the Claremore Expo powered by a second half surge.
The Cats poured in 52 points in the second stanza led by the scoring of Deveric Taylor, as the Dallas, Texas native dropped 15 points in the period. RSU shot 86 percent from behind the arc and hit 22-of-26 free shots in the half to pull away with the victory over the Eagles.
The Hillcats opened the second half trading buckets with OC for the first five minutes, tying the Eagles five times. RSU went on a 13-5 run topped off by a Taylor 3-pointer at the 10:24 mark. Larry Cox knocked down a 3-pointer from the top of the key to give Justin Barkley's squad its largest lead of the night at 15 with just over three minutes left.
Oklahoma Christian could only cut the Cat lead to eight in the final minute and the Cats sank crucial free throws and secured the ten point victory.
The two squads, tied for fourth in the SAC standings entering the game, tied seven times in the first half and saw the lead change nine times. The Eagles gained a two point advantage, their largest of the game, off a Ross Morrisett lay-up with 11 minutes remaining in the first period. OC wouldn't regain the lead for the final 31 minutes of the contest as RSU entered halftime leading 33-32.
Taylor led the Cats in scoring, finishing with 19 points. John Boyd recorded 15 points and eight rebounds. Matt Kellogg and Cox totaled 15 points apiece as RSU had four players in double-figure scoring.
Oklahoma Christian (13-7, 7-6) shot 12 percent from behind the arc and was a lowly 66 percent at the charity stripe. Will Reinke posted a game-high 27 points and pulled in 10 rebounds. Kendre Talley dropped in 17 points for the Eagles off the bench.
With the victory, the Hillcats moved into a three-way tie for third in the SAC standings with John Brown and Saturday's opponent Northwestern Oklahoma State. The three teams sit three games behind conference leader Oklahoma Baptist and just a game behind second-place Southern Nazarene.
Rogers State (12-8, 8-5) will travel to Alva, Okla. for a crucial conference match-up against No. 21 Northwestern Oklahoma State inside Percefull Fieldhouse. Tip-off is set for 4 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on RSU Radio 91.3FM.
