CLAREMORE, Okla. – The Rogers State men's basketball team won its third-straight game Thursday night  mopping up Oklahoma Christian, 86-46, at the Claremore Expo Center in Heartland Conference action.
 
In front of the largest crowd of the season, the Hillcats put together an energized performance from start to finish matching a season-high with 13 made three-pointers as four players reached double figures.
 
A three pointer by Corey Ayala from the corner kick-started a 13-0 run for the Hillcats breaking open an even game, 19-6. Matt Lea got the Expo crowd on its feet with a soaring, put-back dunk following a DesJuan Newton triple.
 
Frederico Santos followed by battling and scoring underneath the basket with tip-ins on back-to-back possessions as RSU continued to crash the offensive glass earning chants of, "Freddy...Freddy...Freddy," from the student section.
 
Newton kept the gym rocking as he flew above to rim hammering an offensive rebound home as the Hillcats took its largest lead of the contest into the halftime break leading 35-17.
 
RSU carried the hot-shooting into the second half knocking down 8-of-12 (67 percent) from behind the arc in the stanza as Donald Moore and J.C. Hartzler led the team with four apiece finishing with 18 and 17 points, respectively.
 
The lead swelled to as many as 42 points in the final minute as the Hillcats won, 86-46, holding the Eagles to their lowest point total of the season.
 
Jordan Huffman came off the bench adding 10 points and Santos tallied his sixth double-double of the season with 10 points and 13 rebounds. Ayala finished with a career-best 10 rebounds, including four on the offensive end.
 
Rogers State (11-6, 5-4 HC) continues its season-long, four-game homestand Saturday, hosting the Jets of Newman for a 3 p.m. tip. The game can be found live on the Hillcat Network at www.rsuhillcats.com/live and on RSU Radio 91.3 FM.