CLAREMORE, Okla. – The Rogers State men's basketball team used a strong second half and balanced scoring to pull away from conference-leading Texas A&M International for a 72-56 victory on Thursday (Jan. 26) at the Claremore Expo Center.
 
A total of five Hillcats scored in double figures, and the Cats outscored the Dustdevils by 10 points in the second half to pull away for a key conference win.
 
With the Hillcats holding a slight 41-39 edge with 14 minutes remaining, the navy and red went on a 9-1 run, highlighted by a Travis Hester 3-pointer, to build a 50-40 lead with 10:24 left. Four different Cats scored in the quick run.
 
RSU was in control for the rest of the contest. The Dustdevils cut the deficit to seven points at the 8:41 mark, but the Hillcats pushed it back to double digits on a Jeylyn Sharpe jumper for a 54-43 advantage. RSU stayed in front by double figures for the final 6 minutes of the game. The margin grew to as large as 19 points at 68-49 before the final score of 72-56.
 
The navy and red held the lead for the final 32 minutes of the contest. After TAMIU had some early advantages, Johnathon Buckley put the Hillcats in front, 14-11, with a 3 with 12:25 remaining in the first half as the Cats would never relinquish the lead for the rest of the game.
 
The Hillcats were up 36-30 at halftime, their largest margin of the first half.
 
Five Hillcats posted double digits in scoring.  Matt Lea was superb, setting or nearly setting career highs in many categories. He totaled career highs in blocks, steals, free throws made and free throws attempted. The junior forward was one rebound off his career high. For the contest, Lea put together a line of 12 points, seven rebounds, four blocks and two steals. With his four blocks tonight, Lea became the all-time leader in blocks with 44 in his career, passing Abram Donlon and John Boyd, both of whom totaled 41 blocks. 
 
Sharpe finished with a team-high 14 points, and Baron Smith Jr. was right behind with 13 points. Johnathon Buckley and Lea each had 12 points. JD Tisdale tallied 10 points.
 
The navy and red totaled 10 blocks in the game, including three on one possession. The 10 blocks rank second all-time for RSU. The Hillcats registered 12 blocks against USAO on Jan. 23, 2010.
 
RSU shot 46 percent (23-50) from the field, while TAMIU finished at 37.3 percent (19-51). In the second half, the Dustdevils made only seven field goals as they shot 30.4 percent (7-23).
 
Kenny Hatch was the only Dustdevil in double figures as he had a game-high 17 points.
 
The Hillcats end their five-game homestand on Saturday (Jan. 28) by hosting St. Mary's at 3 p.m. at the Claremore Expo Center. Follow the action on RSU TV (35.1), 91.3 FM and the Hillcat Network at www.rsuhillcats.com/live.