TULSA, Okla. – The Rogers State men's basketball team could not make a halftime lead stand falling, 73-60 , at NCAA Division I Oral Roberts in exhibition  play from the Mabee Center Saturday night.
 
The Hillcats held a four-point advantage at halftime but were outscored 45-28 in the second half as ORU had to come-from-behind to get the victory on its home floor.
 
After the Golden Eagles converted a second-chance opportunity early, J.C. Hartzler knocked down an open three pointer from the left corner giving the Hillcats a 3-2 advantage in the game's opening minutes.
 
Jeylyn Sharpe added a jumper putting RSU in front 5-2 before the Golden Eagles scored the next five points to take their first lead of the contest. Donald Moore regained the Hillcats' lead with a three of his own as the hot-shooting start continued away from home.
 
ORU used a quick burst for a five-point advantage but the Hillcats responded with a Deran Banton three and an offensive rebound and put back from Sharpe to knot the score 21-21. The teams traded baskets and then played more than four minutes without scoring until DesJuan Newton connected on a pair of free throws for a 25-23 RSU lead with less than three minutes to halftime.
 
Matt Lea got a tough offensive rebound and promptly scored underneath the basket in the final two seconds of the half as RSU closed the first stanza on a 7-2 run taking a 32-28 lead into the locker room.
 
The Golden Eagles came out of the break scoring the first four points and continued with seven of the next nine going ahead 39-34 before Deran Banton got a fast break dunk off a Newton steal. ORU built a double-digit lead 48-36 on a 9-0 stretch keeping RSU off the scoreboard for nearly four minutes.
 
The Hillcats could not get the deficit back to single digits but did use an 8-0 run getting back into the game 61-50 highlighted by a three-point play from Frederico Santos on a perfect inside feed by Hartzler. ORU closed out the exhibition victory 73-60 as the two teams get ready for their season openers over the weekend.
 
Newton paced three Hillcats in double figures with 13 points, eight coming from the free throw line, while Banton and Hartzler added 12 and 10 points, respectively.
 
Korey Billbury led all scorers with 18 points while Obi Emegano added 16 for the Golden Eagles as they also had three reach double-digit scoring.
 
The Hillcats begin the 2014-15 season on the road Friday at the South Central Region Crossover in Denver, Colorado against preseason No. 5 Metro State. The game is scheduled for 8 p.m. and can be heard live on the Hillcat Network at www.rsuhillcats.com/live.