CLAREMORE, Okla.-  The Rogers State men's basketball team cruised to a 94-59 victory over Ecclesia College (Ark.) on Tuesday night at the Claremore Expo.

With 12 minutes to play in the first stanza Robinson Odoch Opong nabbed a steal and added a layup to give the Hillcats a 10-point advantage. RSU never looked back stretching the lead to 17 points at intermission, forcing the Royals into 14 first half turnovers.

RSU poured on the offense in the second half, leading by as many as 38 points in the contest. The Hillcat defense wreaked havoc on EC's offense in the second frame as the Royal committed 31 turnovers in the contest while the Hillcats swiped a season-high 18 steals.

All 10 Hillcats who saw the court added points to their ledger with freshman Jeylyn Sharpe and junior Deran Banton leading the charge with 14 points apiece. Opong and Ritchi Mundende tallied 13 points each while J.C. Hartzler added 11 points and Jerry Dixon added 10 points. RSU won the battle on the boards, 32-27.

Rolands Narkis and Austin Burroughs led the Royals with 19 points apiece.

Rogers State (5-2) returns to action on Monday as the Cats host Newman University in Heartland Conference play at 7:30 p.m. RSU will host the Hillcat Hoops Holiday Extravaganza on Monday evening. Fans are encouraged to bring a new basketball, water bottle or jump rope to the game and receive free admission to the game. All collected items will be donated to the holiday sports bags for the 4th Annual Hillcub Drive. The games will be streamed live on the Hillcat Network at www.rsuhillcats.com/live and on RSU Radio 91.3 FM.