OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. – The Rogers State men's basketball team narrowly escaped the Eagles' Nest with a tightly-contested 69-67 victory on the road at Oklahoma Christian Saturday afternoon in Heartland Conference action.
 
Corey Ayala cut back side and scored on a layup with 9.8 seconds remaining in the game for the eventual winner coming on a perfect feed from Robert Johnson. The Eagles fired off a last-second three pointer that would not fall as the Hillcats won their fourth straight.
 
Trailing by three in the final two minutes, OC's Elijah Strickland hit from long range to even the score, but it was Hartzler stepping up on the next RSU possession. The senior drilled his fourth triple of the afternoon, from well behind the arc, giving the Hillcats a 67-64 lead with 59 seconds remaining.
 
After the Eagles scored the opening basket on a trey, RSU answered with the next five points as Travis Julien hit a jumper and J.C. Hartzler followed with a three pointer of his own. A 5-0 run for the visitors pushed the lead to 10-5 before OC responded by taking a 14-12 advantage.
 
Following three different tie scores, the Hillcats held a five-point edge four times near the mid-point of the opening stanza, until Chase Littlejohn and Hartzler connected on triples giving RSU its largest lead of the game, 35-28. A pair of free throws from Donald Moore in the final seconds gave the Cats a 37-30 advantage heading into halftime.
 
In the second half, a quick 5-0 spurt for the Eagles evened the score, 41-41, and they claimed their first lead since the opening minutes, 46-44, before Johnson knocked down a jumper to tie the contest.
 
The Hillcats turned to what they have done best this season, getting to the basket and generating free throw opportunities. Jordan Huffman and Ayala each hit a pair from the charity stripe to move back ahead, 52-42. RSU finished shooting 16-of-20 from the free throw line in the game.
 
Jeylyn Sharpe started to find some rhythm offensively and turned in a remarkable hustle play saving the ball from going out of bounds. His effort led to more free throws, which Hartzler converted, stretching the margin to five, 63-58, with 3:10 to play in regulation.
 
OC continued to hang around and eventually got the tying basket, 64-64, on Strickland's three before RSU got the go-ahead shot from Hartzler and was able to hang on for the road win, 69-67, on Ayala's winner.
 
Hartzler paced the Hillcats with 18 points, while Moore joined him in double figures adding 12 and six assists. Moon, the league's leading scorer, led the Eagles with 20 points and Chiza Ntirata grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds.
 
RSU (15-3 overall, 7-3 HC) remains on the road for its next contest Jan. 28 at St. Edward's and is scheduled for a 7:30 p.m. start in Austin, Texas. The game can be heard live on the Hillcat Network at www.rsuhillcats.com/live and on the airwaves of RSU Radio 91.3FM.