CLAREMORE, Okla. – Jeylyn Sharpe scored 13 of his career-high 19 points in the first half as the Rogers State men's basketball team won its fourth-consecutive game, 80-70, over Northwestern Oklahoma State Saturday at the Claremore Expo Center.
 
The sophomore hit 6-of-8 shots from the floor in the opening stanza as the Hillcats raced out to an early 15-7 advantage with eight points coming from Sharpe. He added his first two three pointers of the season building the largest lead if the game, 31-13, capping a 12-0 run.
 
RSU entered halftime leading 42-30 but the Rangers battled back in the second half using an 11-2 run out of intermission cutting the deficit to three and eventually knotted the score 46-46 with 12:23 to play.
 
After NWOSU took its first lead of the afternoon, 55-54, on a quick 5-0 burst, the Hillcats responded to regain their advantage as the teams traded leads eight times over the next three minutes. Trailing by one, 66-65, DesJuan Newton started a 10-0 run knocking down a pair of free throws putting RSU back in front. Donald Moore beat the shot clock with a long-range three back ending the stretch.
 
The Hillcats secured the victory, 80-70, at the charity stripe where they shot 82 percent for the game converting 23-of-28, including eight of their final nine in the last three minutes of the game, while the Rangers hit just 9-of-14 (64 percent).
 
Sharpe led four RSU players in double-figure scoring while Moore (16), Frederico Santos (11), and Newton (11) also reached the mark. Santos added a game-high nine rebounds helping the Hillcats to a 34-28 advantage on the glass.
 
Brandon Green came off the bench to lead the Rangers in scoring with 16 points while Laakeem Henderson and Adrian Motley joined in double figures with 15 and 10 points, respectively.
 
Rogers State (4-2) looks to extend its four-game win streak after a nearly two-week break playing host to Dallas Christian Dec. 11 at 7:30 p.m. The game will be available live on the Hillcat Network at www.rsuhillcats.com/live.