CLAREMORE, Okla. – Frederico Santos set the Rogers State men's basketball single-season rebound record and the Hillcats tallied a season-high in points routing visiting Oklahoma Panhandle State, 109-69, Thursday night in Heartland Conference action at the Claremore Expo Center.
 
Led by J.C. Hartzler's 19 points, six players scored in double figures pushing the Hillcats over the century mark for the first time this season and back into a five-way tie for first place in the conference standings with only five games remaining in the regular season.
 
Santos set the rebound record at the 15:03 mark of the first half grabbing his 228th board of the season moving past John Boyd's 2010-11 mark of 227. The senior finished with his 11th double-double of the year behind a 16-point, 11-rebound performance in just 23 minutes of play.
 
The Aggies got the first four points of the game from the Heartland Conference's leading scorer Antonio Manns, Jr. The Hillcats took control shortly thereafter using an 18-2 run covering nearly eight minutes. RSU stretched its lead to more than 20 points scoring 12-consecutive points moving in front 36-12.
 
The Hillcats dominated the paint in the opening stanza outscoring OPSU 26-8 inside taking a 53-26 advantage into the locker room at halftime. The Aggies got no closer than within 24 points in the second half as the RSU bench generated 50 points on the night as the team matched its season-best hitting 13 triples, as six players connected on at least one from behind the arc.
 
DesJuan Newton came off the bench to score 14 points, including four on spectacular put-back dunks while Deran Banton added 11 points. Matt Lea and Jordan Huffman each posted10 points to round out the RSU double-figure scorers as Lea slammed home a pair and Huffman drained two from the outside, including the final dagger in the last minute. Corey Ayala and Donald Moore both dished seven assists for the Hillcats.
 
John Lazenby led all scorers with 24 points for OPSU while Manns, Jr. added 21, 16 coming in the opening half, as both shot 6-of-15 from the floor combining for seven made three pointers.
 
Rogers State (16-7, 10-5 HC) continues its weekend homestand facing fellow conference-leading Lubbock Christian in a Valentine's Day matinee scheduled to tip at 3 p.m. Catch the game live on the Hillcat Network at www.rsuhillcats.com/live.