SHAWNEE, Okla. - Rogers State turned in a strong second half effort and spoiled Senior Night at St. Gregory's with a 69-62 win at W.P. Wood Field House in Shawnee Saturday.
 

The Hillcats broke loose from a 33-33 halftime tie by shooting 57-percent from the floor in the second half. Abram Donlon and Roderick Rodgers scored 15 points apiece while Sylvester Spicer added 13.
 

The Cavaliers grabbed the early lead and built a 12-point advantage over the first eight minutes of the game. RSU stormed back with a 6-0 run capped by a three-point-play from Spicer. The Cats took their first lead since the opening minute on a Rodgers free throw with 4:22 to play in the half. SGU's Ryan Wilson converted a layup in transition with 45 seconds remaining in the half to send the teams to the locker room tied at 33-33.
 

The Cavs and Cats battled through two lead changes and three ties over the first six minutes of the second half. James Coats drained a three from the wing to put RSU on top 42-39 with 13:58 remaining and the Hillcats never trailed again.
 

SGU managed to keep the outcome in doubt until the final seconds. Kyle Lulko hit a trey with 22 seconds left to pull the Cavs to within three at 63-60. However, RSU refused to be the victim of any last second antics on this night. Donlon, Rodgers and Aldric Reynolds combined to hit six straight free throws in the final 20 seconds to close out the victory.
 

Just two days removed from their worst free throw shooting performance of the season, the Hillcats shot 74-percent from the charity stripe as a team. RSU outrebounded the Cavs 21-12 in the second half.
 

Patrick Jones led all scorers with 21 points, but was held to just two points over the final five minutes. Reynolds filled up the stat sheet with eight points, eight rebounds and four assists for RSU.
 

Rogers State (18-10, 13-9) wrapped up the regular season by winning nine of its final 12 games. The Hillcats claimed a share of fifth place in the conference standings with Northwestern Oklahoma State. RSU will play as the six seed in next week's conference tournament since the Rangers hold the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Hillcats.
 

RSU will face eleventh-seeded Mid-America Christian in Wednesday's opening round at Oklahoma Christian. Tip-off is slated for 11:15 a.m. and the game will be carried live on RSU Radio 91.3 FM.