SAN ANTONIO, Texas – The Rogers State men's basketball team could not make a halftime lead stand on the road at St. Mary's falling, 72-68, snapping its six-game win streak Thursday night at Bill Greehey Arena.
 
In a tight battle continued from the double-overtime thriller the first time these teams met back in January in Claremore, this matchup featured two teams tied for first place in the Heartland Conference standings and they lived up to the hype with 16 tie scores and 12 lead changes.
 
J.C. Hartzler matched his career-high with 26 points as he and DesJuan Newton tallied 51 points for RSU with Newton going for 25.
 
The Hillcats took control after the Rattlers got the opening basket scoring the next seven points highlighted by a conventional three-point play by Frederico Santos. Hartzler later tallied five-straight points as RSU built its largest lead of the half, 19-12, at the midpoint of the Stanza.
 
StMU battled back to take a quick lead, 20-19, on an 8-0 run before the Hillcats regained their edge taking a 31-28 advantage into the locker room at halftime.
 
Hartzler knocked down a three pointer early in the second half but the Rattlers answered with seven-consecutive points for their largest lead, 37-34. The seesaw affair continued from there as the teams traded leads between tied scores until late into the frame.
 
Marvin Binney drained a three pointer from the top of the key with 3:41 to play breaking a 61-61 tie and StMU did not surrender the advantage despite late chances by the Hillcats clinging to a 72-68 victory.
 
Binney led St. Mary's with 21 points on the night despite not playing the first half and three others reached double figures as the Rattlers won their fourth-straight at home.
 
Rogers State (14-7, 8-5 HC) closes a quick trip to Texas looking for a season sweep of Texas A&M International Saturday afternoon with first tip scheduled for 3 p.m. The game can be found live on the Hillcat Network at www.rsuhillcats.com/live and on RSU Radio 91.3FM.