CLAREMORE, Okla. - The Rogers State men's basketball picked up a big conference victory over Lincoln University on Saturday at the Claremore Expo Center, defeating the Blue Tigers 76-67 in MIAA play.
 
Christopher Miller led the way for the Hillcats (16-4, 8-3 MIAA), who had three other players finish in double figures, and improved to 1-0 all-time against the Lincoln Blue Tigers (7-11, 4-5 MIAA).
 
How it Happened: The game started slowly for the Hillcats in the first half as the Blue Tigers began the game with an 8-0 run. Senior Christopher Miller would ignite the Hillcats offense as he ended the nine-shot drought and scored the first six points for the Hillcats.
 
The Hillcats trailed the Blue Tigers in the first half until they took a 19-17 lead at the 8:32 mark.  The two teams would battle the remainder of the half, as the biggest point differential between the two teams came at halftime, where the Hillcats led by four points with a 29-25 lead.
 
Early in the second half the Hillcats and Blue Tigers would continue to battle, as there were four lead changes.
 
However, at the 14:13 mark of the second half, a three-pointer from Junior Brewster Peacock would be the final lead change of the game. The Hillcats would lead by as much as 12 points and finished the game with a 76-67 victory.
 
Key Statistics: The Hillcats outscored the Blue Tigers 45-15 from the bench.
 
The Hillcats also shot 45.5 percent from the field and 90.5 percent from the free-throw line in the game, while Lincoln finished with 39.1 percent shooting and 62.5 percent shooting from the free-throw line.
 
Players of Note: Miller led the Hillcats with 22 points and 11 rebounds. The senior shot 9-for-14 from the field and was perfect from the free-throw line, making all four of his attempts.
 
Peacock would finish the game with 15 points. Peacock led the team in three-point shooting, making three of his seven shots from downtown and the junior also recorded four assists.
 
Freshman Jett Sternberger finished the game with 11 points. Sternberger finished perfect from the free-throw line, hitting all four of his attempts and he also recorded two rebounds.
 
Marques Sumner finish the game with nine points. Sumner was perfect from the free-throw line, hitting all four of his shots and the senior also recorded five rebounds.
 
Notes: With this win, head coach Justin Barkley is one win from the 200-career win milestone.
 
Miller finished the day with his third double-double of the season and his 10^th double-digit scoring performance of the year. It was also the fourth time he has led the Hillcats in scoring this season and second time leading the Hillcats in scoring from the bench.
 
The +30 margin in bench scoring was the second best performance of the season for the Hillcats and the best in MIAA play.
 
Rogers State remains undefeated this season when scoring at least 70 points, improving to 13-0.
 
What it Means: The Hillcats extend their winning streak to five games, tied for the second-longest win streak of the season, and improve to 8-3 in MIAA conference play. Rogers State sits third in the MIAA standings with eight games remaining in the conference season
 
Up Next: Rogers State hits the road for the first of two of the shortest MIAA conference trips of the season. The Hillcats will wrap the month of January on the road at Pittsburg State. The Hillcats will take on the Gorillas with a 7:30 p.m. tipoff on Wednesday, January 29 at the Whetzel Court in John Lance Arena.