CLAREMORE, Okla. – Rogers State men's basketball (1-1) hung on to claim a 77-73 victory over Concordia-St. Paul in the final game of the Holiday Inn Express Regional Challenge on Saturday.
 
Two Hillcats finished in double figures in the win. Joey Saracco led RSU with 23 points to go along with five rebounds, two blocks and an assist. Sherwyn Devonish-Prince Jr. put up 17 points with a team-high six assists, a rebound and a steal. Chris Whitaker added nine points with four rebounds, three assists and two steals. Kofi Hamilton was just two points shy of a double-double as he contributed eight points and a game-high 14 rebounds as well as two steals and a block.
 
The Hillcats got off on strong footing as they opened the game on an 11-3 run. The Golden Bears rallied to cut the lead to 15-12 with 10:44 left in the half. RSU managed to push the back out to a seven point lead but couldn't build it further until they went up 36-27 with 38 seconds left. They carried a 36-28 advantage into the break.
 
RSU began the second half on a 5-0 run to push out to a 41-28 lead. CSP slowly began to chip into the lead and managed to cut it to eight points at 47-39. The Hillcats responded by going on a 10-4 run to go back up 57-45. The Golden Bears refused to go down as they immediately turned around and ripped off an 8-0 run to pull within four at 57-53. They kept chipping away and eventually tied the game at 67-67 with just over three minutes left. RSU didn't back down though as they secured the victory with an 8-4 run to close out the game.
 
The Hillcats will wrap up the season opening homestand on Wednesday, Nov. 16 as they welcome Drury to the Claremore Expo Center. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.