CLAREMORE, Okla. - The Rogers State men's basketball team dropped its second straight game in the final seconds on Monday evening as the fell to Oklahoma Wesleyan 85-82 at the Claremore Expo. The Eagles came into tonight's matchup ranked No. 2 in the latest NAIA Division II Coaches Poll which was released Monday afternoon.
The Eagles opened the game with a 20-9 lead but the Hillcats gained composure and rallied with an 11-0 stint, capped off by a three pointer by junior Joey Twilley, to knot the score with under 11 minutes to play in the opening half.
The Hillcats ended the first half with a steal by senior Matt Kellogg which led to a bucket by Chris Francis with four seconds to spare, giving the Hillcats a 44-37 advantage at intermission. Francis and Alex Ewings each recorded 11 points before the break while Kellogg added five assists.
RSU opened the second half with back to back buckets by John Boyd, extending the Hillcats lead to 49-39. It was the only time in the final half that either team led by double figures. The Cats clung to their lead throughout the period but the Eagles used a 5-0 run to tie the score at 79-79 with 2:29 to play.
OWU used two made free throws by Dominique Rambo to take an 83-81 lead with 59 second to play. RSU got one point back when Ewings made the front side of his free throws, making it 83-82 with 13 seconds remaining.
The Hillcats were forced to foul and Rambo drained both of his free throws to extend the Eagles lead to 85-82 with eight seconds left in the game. After calling a time out the Hillcats had the ball at half court with five second remaining but were unable to attempt a final play due to a turnover on the inbound.
Five Hillcats turned in double figure scoring performances on the night, led by Francis with 18 points. Boyd added 16 points, Ewings added 15 points, and Kellogg contributed 14 points. Alburey Doss rounded out the group with 13 points.
The Eagles were led in scoring by Sadiel Rojas with 29 points and Dominique Rambo with 23 points. Murray Shaw completed OWU's double digit scores with a double-double. He recorded 15 points and 11 rebounds.
The Hillcats will return to Sooner Athletic Conference play on Thursday as they host Northwestern Oklahoma State at the Expo. Tip-off is slated for 8 p.m. The game will be carried live on RSU Radio 91.3, RSU TV and at rsuhillcats.com.
