CLAREMORE, OKLA. – Rogers State fell 102-95 to the Newman Jets as the two teams combined for 59 fouls Monday afternoon at the Claremore Expo.
 
The Jets mounted a 15 point advantage in the first half with 8:32 remaining but the Hillcats responded outscoring Newman 11-2 over the next four minutes to pull within six points. Johnathon Buckley closed out the half with five points to cut the deficit to two points at 44-42 at the intermission.
 
Newman opened the second half on a 15-4 run as the lead swelled to 59-46 in the first four minutes of the half. RSU slowly chipped at the Jet lead eventually pulling within five on a JD Tisdale fast break dunk with just over nine minutes to go.
 
The Hillcats chances looked bleak with 3:19 remaining down 88-75 but RSU wouldn't go away with ease as Buckley connected on a 3-pointer to pull RSU within six points with 40 seconds remaining. A long range answer by Travis Hester following two Newman free throws saw the Cats trail 98-93 with 23 seconds to go. Jeylyn Sharpe, hampered by fouls most of the game, connected on a mid-range jumper with 10 seconds left to pull within five points but the Cats ran out of time and made shots.
 
Newman (5-8, 3-1) was led by Taylor Schieber with 32 points while Daniel Nwosu went 18-of-18 from the free throw line to finish with 24 points and Kevin Bryant added 17 points. The Jets shot 61 percent from the field and 50 percent from 3-point in the victory.
 
JD Tisdale set his career high in points for the second straight game with 29 points as five players scored in double figures for the Hillcats. Buckley finished with a career high 19 points in the loss as RSU shot 38 percent from the field while attempting 85 shots to the Jets 49 attempts.
 
Rogers State (9-5, 2-2) returns to action Thursday, Dec. 5 at Dallas Baptist at 7 p.m. Live play-by-play coverage will be provided on RSU Radio 91.3 FM and simulcast on the Hillcat Network at www.rsuhillcats.com/live.