CLAREMORE, Okla. - The Rogers State men's basketball team tallied its third consecutive Heartland Conference victory on Saturday night as the Hillcats overpowered Oklahoma Christian, 81-68, at the Claremore Expo.

With the win, the Hillcats remain unbeaten at the Claremore Expo in the series with the Eagles. RSU is a perfect 6-0 at home against Head Coach Dan Hayes and OC.  

The win came in come-from-behind fashion as the Hillcats held the Eagles scoreless for a six minute span, leading to 15-0 run by the Hillcats. With the scoring spurt, RSU took a six point lead with seven minutes to play. The Eagles cut the lead to four points with a John Moon layup but Robinson Odoch Opong answered with an 8-0 run, including back-to-back treys. Opong gave RSU the momentum, pushing the lead to 12 points and RSU held the advantage the rest of the way.

The Eagles led by single digits for much of the first frame but RSU outscored OC 15-7 over the final four minutes of the half to take a 37-34 lead into the break.

For the fifth time this season Damion Hooks led RSU in scoring as he tallied 24 points on the night. The senior from Tulsa, Okla. went 11-of-14 from the field on the night. Three other Hillcats finished with double digit scoring. Opong tallied his first double-double of the season with 18 points and 14 rebounds. J.C. Hartzler tallied 19 points, and Jerry Dixon poured in 13 points.

Nick Tate led OC with 19 points and Moon finished with a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds. The Eagles shot just 15 percent from 3-point range (3-for-20) and the Hillcats edged them on the boards 44-41.

Rogers State (9-4, 4-1) returns to action on Thursday as the Hillcats hit the road for Heartland Conference action against Newman (Kan.) in Wichita. Fans can listen to the game live on RSU Radio 91.3 FM and on the Hillcat Network at www.rsuhillcats.com/live.