LUBBOCK, Texas - Rogers State men's basketball entered the Rip Griffin Center on Saturday riding a seven game win streak and the only thing that seemed to be able to stop them were themselves. That was exactly what happened as the No. 25 Hillcats couldn't keep from beating themselves as Lubbock Christian came away with the 74-68 victory.
After trailing by 13 points at the half, Rogers State used the first four minutes of the second half to trim the Chaps lead to 50-44 capped by a 3-pointer from the right wing by John Boyd. Chris Francis scored on a layup with 10:01 remaining to cut the LCU lead to 56-54.
A pair of free throws by Douglas Williams and an Al Duvall 3-pointer built the Chaparrals lead to five with under nine minutes left. Alburey Doss muscled in a lay-up to cut the deficit back to two points. From then on the Cats kept the score within four points over the next four minutes.
With 3:48 remaining Boyd was called for traveling and a technical back-to-back. Kenny Hewitt knocked in the technical free shots and Williams hit a 3-pointer to build the LCU lead up to 70-63 with 2:33 to go. A Francis fast break layup put the score at 70-68 with 53 seconds on the clock. LCU was able to knockdown shots while the Hillcats came up empty handed from the free throw line in the final 30 seconds and Lubbock Christian claimed the victory 74-68.
The Chaparrals led by 11 points with 2:49 remaining in the opening period when Deveric Taylor was called for a defensive block. Taylor was subsequently given double technicals and ejected from the contest and LCU nailed six free shots pushing the lead to 43-26. The Dallas, Texas native left the contest with six points in 13 minutes of play.
Hewitt led all scorers with 25 points as the senior played his final contest inside the Rip Griffin Center. Clay Roberts and Williams rounded out the LCU double-figure scorers with 10 each. The Chaparrals shot 93 percent from the charity stripe.
Francis led RSU in scoring with 16 points tallying 13 in the closing half. After being held scoreless in the first period, Boyd finished with 11 points in the game. Matt Kellogg closed out the double-digit scorers with 11 points.
Lubbock Christian (18-10, 13-8) turned the ball over 22 times while RSU registered 14 turnovers.
Rogers State (19-10, 15-7) heads back to Claremore to prepare for the Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament inside Abe Lemons Arena on the campus of Oklahoma City University. The SAC Tournament will get underway on March 3 and run through March 5. RSU Radio 91.3FM will broadcast on the Hillcats postseason action. For more information on Hillcat Basketball and for start times for the Hillcats postseason games visit www.rsuhillcats.com.
