HOUSTON, Texas - Junior Justynn Hammonds led the Rogers State men's basketball team with 21 points as the Hillcats gave NCAA Divison I opponent the University of Houston a scare, falling 90-80 in an exhibition match-up inside the Hofheinz Pavilion on Wednesday evening.
The Hillcats jumped out to a 4-0 lead with buckets by Meneptha Darden and Hammond. RSU built the lead up to seven points with 14 minutes to play in the first stanza with a layup by Kendrell Thompson. The Hillcats clung to the single digit advantage until Joseph Young knocked down a trey from the top of the arc to knot the score at 22-22 with 6:37 to play.
Kenny Edwards burried a three pointer from the corner at the buzzer to give RSU a 45-42 lead at the break. Hammond registered 15 points as RSU knocked down four buckets from long distance.
The Cougars opened the second stanza with a 13-2 run and hung on to the lead the rest of the night. UH took its first double digit lead with 11:16 to play with a layup by Leon Gibson. Alandise Harris converted a pair of free throws to give the Cougars their largest lead of the night, 86-72. Thompson sunk a three pointer and Hammond nabbed a steal, allowing Thompson to cut the deficit to nine with a layup.
With 59 seconds remaining the Hillcats were forced to foul, sending Jonathon Simmons to the charity stripe twice. Simmons converted all four free throws to push the Cougars lead to 13 points. Hammond nailed a trey with 10 seconds remaining as RSU suffered a 90-80 loss.
Houston edged the Hillcats on the boards 30-29 and each team registered six steals. Three RSU players joined Hammonds in double figure scoring. Thompson tallied 14 points while Kenny Edwards and Donald Williams added 11 points apiece. The Hillcats shot 50 percent from the field and 45 percent from behind the arc.
Simmons led the Cougars with 25 points and Joseph Young followed with 22 points.
Rogers State (11-0) returns to Sooner Athletic Conference action on New Year's Eve as the Hillcats travel to St. Gregory's for a 5 p.m tip time. Live audio will be streamed at www.rsuhillcats.com/live.
