CLAREMORE, Okla. – The Rogers State men's basketball team erased an early deficit and led for the final 23 minutes in a 76-70 victory over St. Edward's on Thursday (Feb. 8) at the Claremore Expo Center.
 
Saint Hilaire powered the RSU attack with a career-high 28 points and 10 rebounds for a double-double. He finished 10-for-14 from the floor and scored a late layup to help the Cats close out the win.
 
The victory snapped a three-game losing streak for the Cats as the navy and red moved to 15-8 and 6-5 in the Heartland Conference.
 
The Hilltoppers (15-9, 5-7 Heartland) started fast and built their largest advantage of the game at 18-11 on a Landon Goesling free throw with 11:43 left in the first half.
 
With the score tied at 29-29, RSU took the lead for good when Gage Loy scored inside on a layup for a 31-29 edge with 3:37 left. The Cats pulled out to a seven point advantage when Chase Littlejohn scored for a 40-33 score in the final minute before halftime. The navy and red held a 40-38 lead at halftime.
 
To start the second half, RSU scored the first six points to open a 48-40 margin at the 16:21 mark and held control for the rest of the game.
 
The lead grew to the largest of the game on a Baron Smith Jr. steal and fastbreak layup for a 58-44 score with 13:23 remaining.
 
SEU pulled to within three at 69-66 when Sean Watkins sank a 3-pointer with 2 minutes left. He was fouled, but missed the free throw.
 
Hilaire put the game away with a driving layup for a 71-66 edge with 59 seconds left. The Cats made free throws in the final seconds for the 76-70 score.
 
Littlejohn was a perfect 5-for-5 shooting at 13 points, hitting three 3-pointers. Smith hit double figures with 11 points and a game-high five assists.
 
RSU shot 41.3 percent (26-63) for the game and hit 19-of-24 free throws for 79.2 percent.
 
SEU's Goesling, the Heartland Conference leading scorer, posted 21 points. Four Hilltoppers totaled double digits.
 
The Hilltoppers finished at 43.3 percent (26-60) from the floor after shooting 48.4 percent (15-31) in the first half.
 
The Hillcats take to the road for their final three road games of the regular season starting on Saturday (Feb. 10) at Lubbock Christian at 3 p.m. in Lubbock, Texas. Radio coverage will be available on 91.3 FM.