STILLWATER, Okla. – The Rogers State men's basketball team led for seven minutes in the early going in a 101-85 loss at NCAA Division I Oklahoma State on Wednesday (Nov. 30) at Gallagher-Iba Arena. The game counted as a regular season contest for the Cowboys, but was an exhibition for the navy and red.
 
The Hillcats gained an early edge, 2-0, on a high arcing runner from JD Tisdale less than one minute into the contest. After OSU tied the score at 2-2, Jeylyn Sharpe hit a pullup jumper for a 4-2 advantage. The navy and red took all the momentum with a highlight reel dunk from Tisdale on a lob from point guard Baron Smith Jr. for a 6-2 score with 17:28 left in the first half.
 
RSU held an 8-5 lead at the first media timeout after a driving layup from Sharpe with 16:14 remaining in the half.
 
After OSU closed to down one at 8-7, Smith knocked down a pullup 3 in transition for an 11-7 lead at the 15:12 mark. The Hillcats continued to hold the edge with a Matt Lea layup for a 13-10 score.
 
The Cowboys (6-1) posted four straight, including a three-point play from Jeffrey Carroll, to take their first lead at 14-13 with 12:36 remaining in the first half.
 
Travis Hester put the Cats back in front with a corner 3 off a penetrating drive from Sharpe for an 18-17 score.
 
With the score tied at 21-21, OSU's Jawun Evans scored his first points of the the game with 8:41 left for a 23-21 Cowboy advantage.
 
Sharpe knotted the score at 25-25 with a jumper at the 7:34 mark, but the host Cowboys used a 12-1 run, highlighted by an Evans 3 to take a 37-26 lead. Evans totaled 10 of the 12 OSU points during the spurt.
 
The Cowboys held a 52-44 edge at halftime.
 
RSU hung with the Cowboys for the majority of the second half with the OSU lead only four points at 77-73 after Hester hit another 3 with 7:43 left. Hester kept RSU in it with another 3 for an 81-76 score with 6:30 remaining.
 
The Cowboys pulled away with a 13-0 run over the next 3 minutes for a 94-76 margin. OSU went on to win by the final 101-85 score.
 
The navy and red shot 56.7 percent (33-58) from the field, including 60.7 percent (17-28) in the second half. The Hillcats went 7-of-14 for 50 percent from 3.
 
Sharpe scored a team-high 18 points, going 7-of-10 shooting from the field. The senior forward added eight rebounds, two blocks, two assists and one steal. Smith Jr. tallied 15 points and a team-high six assists. Also in double figures was Hester with 14 points as he hit four 3s, and Davis with 13 points in only 16 minutes.
 
Evans posted a game-high 25 points as he hit 10-of-11 free throws. Seven Cowboys hit double figures.
 
The Cowboys finished at 43.9 percent (29-66) from the field. OSU totaled 44 free throws, going 35-of-44 from the line, a 23-point advantage in free throw points.
 
The Hillcats (4-2) return home to play three of their next four games at the Claremore Expo Center. The stretch starts with Dallas Christian tomorrow (Dec. 1) at 7:30 p.m. with radio coverage available at 91.3 FM KRSC and video streaming, audio and live stats all found on the Hillcat Network at www.rsuhillcats.com/live.