LAWTON, Okla. – The Rogers State Men's Basketball team rallied to force overtime and pick up a 78-71 win over Cameron University Monday night in the Hillcats first true road test to improve to 5-0 on the season.
Brewster Peacock hit a three pointer with 14 seconds left to cap a 10-2 run for the Hillcats over the final 3:08 of regulation to force the Aggies into overtime at 66-66.
Once in overtime,
Christopher Miller hit a layup to put the Hillcats in the lead and
Tavian Davis followed it up with one of three big three pointers in the second half and overtime to extend the lead to 71-67.
Miller added three more points on a layup and an and-one opportunity before
Marques Sumner and
Jett Sternberger each sank a pair of free throws in the final 19 seconds to seal the victory for Rogers State at the Aggie Gym.
The overtime thriller was a game of runs. The Hillcats jumped out to an 11-point lead early in the first half, but Cameron would respond with a 17-0 run through the middle of the first half. The Hillcats would claw back the deficit to one heading into the break, trailing 32-31.
A 15-3 run by the Hillcats to begin the second half would see Rogers State take an 11-point lead, but Cameron responded with an 11-0 run to retake the lead and then go on a 9-3 run to go up by eight with under four minutes to go, setting up the Hillcats' comeback.
All five Hillcat starters finished in double figures, with Peacock leading the way on a game-high 19 points, tied with a pair of Cameron players, Jordan Lewis and Brock Schreiner.
Peacock was 5-for-9 from behind the arc and 4-for-4 from the free throw line. His five three pointers moved him into ninth on the all-time list for three pointers made at Rogers State with 95.
The junior also fell one rebound shy of a double-double, finishing with a game high nine boards. He added three steals and a block in 42 minutes.
Miller and Sternberger each finished with 15 points and six rebounds in the game. Miller was 7-for-13 from the field and added one free throw on just one attempt. Sternberger was 4-for-7 from the field, including a trio of three pointers.
Sumner finished with 13 points in the game and also had six rebounds. Sumner had four field goals, including two three pointers and added three from the line. He also had four assists in the game.
Davis, who moved into second on the all-time assist list with a career high nine on Friday, followed it up with eight more on Monday to lead all players in the game. Davis added 11 points in the game, including a trio of three pointers late in the second half and overtime. He was also 2-for-2 from the line.
Gabriel Ferreira scored the only other points for the Hillcats, finishing with five off the bench.
Rogers State shot 42 percent from the field and from behind the arc in the game. The Hillcats were clutch from the line, going 17-for-19 to finish at 89.5 percent for the game.
The Hillcat defense held Cameron to just 39 percent shooting in the game and from behind the arc. The Aggies were 80 percent from the line.
Rogers State led the Aggies on the boards 42-35. However, the Hillcats had 15 turnovers to just eight from Cameron.
The Hillcats will remain on the road and travel to Springfield, Missouri and Drury University for the Doubletree/Houlihan's Thanksgiving Classic. The Hillcats will face Missouri S&T on Friday with tip-off set for 1 p.m. in the classic opener. Rogers State will face host Drury on Saturday at 3:15 p.m. in the classic finale.
