FORT SMITH, Ark. - The Rogers State men's basketball team concluded the Heartland Conference- RMAC Conference Challenge hosted by the University of Arkansas Fort Smith with an 85-59 win over Western State Colorado on Saturday afternoon.

The Hillcats came to the Stubblefield Center ready to play, leading wire-to-wire over the Mountaineers.  RSU opened the contest with a 12-3 advantage and never looked back. The Hillcat lead climbed to 17 points with an 11-1 run over a six minute span. Western State battled back over the final five minutes of the stanza and cut the deficit to 38-25 at intermission.  

The second frame was much like the first as the Hillcats continued to pour on the points. With under 15 minutes to play, Travis Julien slammed the ball into the hoop to push the Hillcat lead to 18 points.  The Mountaineers answered with a 7-0 spurt but the RSU scoring drought was ended with two made free throws by Robert Johnson.

RSU used a 9-1 run, sparked by a 3-pointer from freshman Chase Littlejohn, to take its largest lead of the contest, 83-55, with one minute to play.  

For the second consecutive night, the Hillcats were led by senior J.C. Hartzler with 18 points. Five other RSU players finished with double digits scoring as Travis Hester and Donald Moore added 12 points apiece while Jeylyn Sharpe, Johnson and Littlejohn added 10 points each.

Rogers State (2-0) opens its home slate Wednesday as the Hillcats take on Dallas Christian at the Claremore Expo Center. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. and the game will be streamed live on the Hillcat Network at www.rsuhillcats.com/live and on RSU Radio 91.3 FM.