CHICKASHA, Okla. - Rogers State men's basketball was able to hold onto victory and moved into a tie for second place in the Sooner Athletic Conference with a 77-75 victory over the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma Saturday night.
A pair of free throws by John Boyd gave RSU a 67-58 victory with 4:55 remaining in the contest. The Drovers however weren't ready to concede, scoring seven straight points and putting the game within two at the 3:21 mark. Phillip Harris scored a lay-up tying the game for the 12th time with 43 seconds to go. Boyd got a layup and a miss by Trell Porter was pulled in by Chris Francis who was immediately fouled. Francis knocked down a pair of free shots with 17 seconds on the clock to give RSU a 76-72 lead. Thomas Peters drained a three pointer over two Hillcats from the right corner with just over a second remaining.
Deveric Taylor was fouled on the inbounds pass and knocked the front end of the double-bonus. A quick Drover time-out gave USAO 1.2 seconds to go the length of the court, trailing the Hillcats 77-75. The Drovers got the ball inbounded but the shot hit a speaker hanging from the ceiling as time expired, giving RSU the victory.
The first period saw the scoreboard tied seven times and the lead change 13 times. Neither team held a lead of more than six points in the first stanza. The Hillcats claimed the intermission lead of 35-29.
USAO (10-16, 6-14) outscored RSU 46-42 but the Cats half time lead proved to be the difference. Three Drovers scored in double-figures led by Phillip Harris with 24 points on 10-of-13 shooting. Thomas Peters added in 20 while center Damian Lewis used his height advantage to register a double-double of 11 points and 11 boards. The Hillcats were able to hold Sahlih Butts, the Drovers second leading scorer on the season averaging 15 points, to just 3 points with all three coming at the charity stripe.
RSU shot 84 percent from the free throw line and hit 8-of-16 from behind the arc. The Hillcats turned the ball over only eight times, tied for the fewest in the conference schedule this season. Boyd and Taylor led the Hillcat scoring with 20 a piece. Larry Cox came off the bench to tally 10 points for Coach Justin Barkley's squad. The Hillcats outscored the Drovers off the bench, 34-9.
Rogers State (17-9, 13-6) will face No. 9 Oklahoma Baptist inside the Claremore Expo on Monday, Feb. 21. Tip-off is 8 p.m. with the game carried on RSU Public Television and RSU Radio 91.3FM.
