OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla.- The Rogers State men's basketball team found a way to win while keeping the Hillcat fans on the edge of their seats with a, 73-71, victory over Mid-America Christian at the Gaulke Activity Center on Monday evening.
With seven seconds remaining in the game, MACU junior Cameron Langster drained a pair of free throws to tie the game 71-71. The Hillcats quickly inbounded the ball and an outlet pass from Maurice Rutherford to teammate Matt Kellogg resulted in an easy layup, giving the Cats the 73-71 edge with five seconds to play. The Evangels got one final look at the basket but junior Bradley Cosby's shot from long distance was off the mark and RSU senior Larry Cox grabbed the rebound as time ran out.
There were eight lead changes in the game and the score was tied 10 times. RSU led by as many as 11 in the second half. With nine minutes remaining in the game Cox grabbed his own rebound and put it back up to give RSU an 11-point advantage. The Evangels countered with a 13-2 run to take a one point lead. Neither team led by more than four points the rest of the way.
Seniors John Boyd and Deveric Taylor led all scorers with 14 points apiece. Rutherford added 13 points and Kellogg rounded out the double-digit scorers with 10 points. RSU won the battle on the boards 42-36 with three players finishing with seven rebounds each.
Rutherford drove to the basket and hit a layup in the closing seconds of the first half to give the Hillcats a 32-29 lead going into intermission. The Broken Bow, Okla. native led the Hillcats at the break with 10 points and five rebounds. The teams traded buckets for most of the opening stanza as neither team was able to pull away with a comfortable lead. The largest lead of the half came in the opening minute of the game when RSU led 5-0.
The Cats shot 47 percent from the floor, 21 percent from behind the arc and 63 percent from the free throw line.
John Shodipo led the Evangels is scoring with 12 points. MACU shot 38 percent from the field, 22 percent from long distance and 66 percent from the charity stripe.
With the win tonight, the Hillcat move into a tie with Northwestern Oklahoma State for third place in the Sooner Athletic Conference standings. Southern Nazarene holds down second place and Oklahoma Baptist sits atop the standings.
Rogers State (15-9, 11-6) returns to the friendly confines of the Claremore Expo on Thursday evening as it plays host to No.12 Southern Nazarene. The game is set to tip-off at 8 p.m. and the Hillcats will honor the seniors. The game will be broadcast live on RSU Radio 91.3 FM and on RSU Public Television.
