WICHITA FALLS, Texas – The Rogers State men's basketball team scored the final eight points of the game to come out with a 68-60 victory over CSU-Pueblo on Saturday (Nov. 10) on the final day of the Jimmy Cleveland Nissan of Wichita Falls Conference Challenge.
 
The Hillcats went 1-1 during the opening weekend of the season in Wichita Falls and now come home for three straight games.
 
After the ThunderWolves tied the score at 60-60 with 3:44 remaining, RSU ended the game with an 8-0 run in the final 2:17 of the game to take the win. Tavian Davis scored the go-ahead basket with a layup at 2:17 for a 62-60 score.
 
The Cats forced the ThunderWolves into back-to-back turnovers and made two free throws to pull the lead out to 64-60 with 36 seconds left. After getting another stop, RSU put the game away with two free throws by Tate Turner with 13 seconds left for a 66-60 score. The Cats made their fourth straight stop on defense and ended the game with a dunk by Latrell Tidwell for the 68-60 final margin.
 
Going into the second half, the game was tied at 34-34 after an even first half. CSU-Pueblo tallied the first points of the second half, but RSU went on a 10-0 run to go up 44-36 with 16:52 left in the contest. Davis and Brewster Peacock combined for nine of the 10 points during the run.
 
The RSU margin was still eight points at 60-52 with 5:47 left; however, a quick 8-0 run by the ThunderWolves evened the score at 60-60 before the late Hillcat run.
 
Davis scored a team-high 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting. Peacock and Tidwell poured in 11 points, and Tidwell pulled down a team-high seven rebounds.
 
In the second half, the Hillcats shot 48 percent (12-25) and finished at 42.4 percent (25-59) for the game.
 
The navy and red held CSU-Pueblo to 24.14 percent (7-29) shooting in the second half and the ThunderWolves finished at 36.2 percent (21-58) for the game. RSU's defense forced 19 turnovers.
 
Donovan Oldham of CSU-Pueblo went for a game-high 18 points as three ThunderWolves registered double figures in scoring.
 
The Hillcats play their home opener on Wednesday (Nov. 14) against in-state rival Northeastern State at 7:30 p.m. at the Claremore Expo Center. Coverage will be available on the Hillcat Network and 91.3 FM. The home game is the first of a three-game homestand for RSU.