DALLAS, Texas – The Rogers State men's basketball team came up just short in the final minutes, falling 59-57 to No. 18-ranked Dallas Baptist University on Wednesday (Jan. 31) at the Burg Center.
 
In the final minutes, the two teams traded baskets before a late offensive foul on a driving layup by the Cats gave the ball back to DBU with 31 seconds left. RSU was forced to foul and the host Patriots hit free throws to pull out the victory.  
 
The Patriots (18-3, 9-2 Heartland Conference) took a 55-54 edge with about one minute remaining on a JT Harris basket in a back-and-forth final minutes.  
 
The Hillcats (14-7, 5-4) had a chance to regain the lead late, but Saint Hilaire was called for an offensive foul on a driving layup attempt going to the basket with only 31 seconds left as the turnover gave the ball back to DBU.
 
Forced to foul to extend the game, RSU sent Harris to the free throw line and he made two from the line to increase the DBU margin to three at 57-54 with 24.9 seconds on the clock.
 
Baron Smith Jr. had an opportunity to tie the score, but his 3-point shot from the left wing right in front of the RSU bench banked off the backboard and couldn't fall. Harris of DBU grabbed the rebound, and the Cats were forced to foul with six seconds remaining.
 
Harris sank two more free throws to put the game away at 59-55.
 
Those two free throws by Harris with six seconds left were the difference in the contest as Smith hit from 3 at the buzzer for the 59-57 final score.
 
Freshman Brewster Peacock posted a team-high 18 points, hitting 4-of-5 3-pointers. He added a team-high eight rebounds in 19 minutes off the bench. Don Leak pulled down eight rebounds to match Peacock for the team high. Smith (15) and Tate Turner (10) hit double figures in scoring.
 
Harris of DBU finished with a game-high 19 points, going 8-of-9 shooting from the free throw line. Patrick Burke nearly totaled a double-double of 10 points and nine rebounds.
 
RSU's defense held the conference-leading offense of DBU to its lowest scoring output and shooting percentage of the season. The Patriots shot only 33.3 percent, 15.3 points below their conference-high season average of 48.6 percent. The Cats also held DBU's leading scorer Boy Van Vliet scoreless on 0-of-3 shooting in 14 minutes.  
 
To start the game, Smith tallied six straight points for an early 6-0 lead in the opening minutes. The Cats went on a run in the first half to pull out to their largest lead of the game at 27-17 at the 6:57 mark of the first half after a Turner jumper.
 
The Patriots ended the first half with a 6-0 spurt for a 31-28 RSU advantage at halftime. The navy and red went up by seven midway through the second half at 46-39 when Smith scored on a layup, but DBU erased the margin to take a 49-48 edge on a 3-pointer with 5:30 remaining. The two teams traded one-point leads late in the final minutes before the close finish.
 
The navy and red shot 42.3 percent (22-52) from the field, including 48.2 percent (13-27) in the first half when the Cats had a slight 31-28 edge. The best 3-point shooting team in the Heartland went 5-of-11 from 3 for 45.5 percent. RSU, however, shot only 61.5 percent from the line, going 8-of-13 in the game.
 
The Hillcats continue their two-game road trip at Oklahoma Christian on Saturday (Feb. 2) at 3 p.m. at the Eagles' Nest in Oklahoma City, Okla. Radio coverage will be available on the Hillcat Network at www.rsuhillcats.com/live.