LUBBOCK, Texas – Rogers State used tough defense and strong play by upperclassmen to capture the Lubbock Christian Chaparrals for a 58-49 victory inside the Rip Griffin Center Saturday.
 
Jeylyn Sharpe connected on a 3-pointer to stall a 12-4 run by the Chaparrals midway through the second half and tie the contest at 45-45. Christopher Ikuenobe added back-to-back buckets over the next two and a half minutes putting RSU in the lead 49-47.
 
RSU would put the game on ice with a 9-2 run to close out the contest as Baron Smith Jr. tallied six points in the final 5:31 of play. Smith finished with a game high 21 points marking the third time the Hillcat point guard finished with 20-plus points this season.
 
The first half saw the pendulum swing in favor of both teams as RSU built a 9-2 advantage before the Chaps responded with a 10-2 run to take a 12-11 lead with 11:36 to go before half. The score would remain tight until JD Tisdale hit a pair of free throws with 2:31 left to spark seven unanswered points for the Hillcats as RSU entered the break, up 28-22.
 
Sharpe reached double-figure scoring for the 15^th time this season as the senior forward finished with 14 points and nine rebounds. JD Tisdale posted 12 points, six coming from the free throw stripe, as the senior transfer tallied his 13^th double-digit scoring game. Ikuenobe finished with a career high six points while seeing 24 minutes of action, another career high for the Warri, Nigeria native.
 
The Hillcats outrebounded the Chaps 36-27marking just the third time this season LCU lost the rebound battle. RSU shot 35 percent from behind the arc while hitting 40 percent from the field. Smith went 3-of-5 from behind the arc matching a season high for 3-point makes.
 
Lubbock Christian (8-7, 2-3) was led by Tyler Rogers with 11 points while Marco Schuster totaled 10 points as the Hillcats held the Chaps to just two double-digit scorers. Schuster, a 41 percent 3-point shooter in conference play, was held to just 0-of-4 by RSU Saturday.  
 
The loss for the Chaps snapped a 17 game home conference win streak as LCU hadn't lost inside the Rip Griffin Center to a league foe since January 15, 2015, that loss came at the hands of the Hillcats, 72-61.
 
Rogers State (10-6, 3-3) will return home to face St. Edward's at 7:30 p.m. inside the Claremore Expo on Thursday, Jan. 12. The showdown with the Hilltoppers will be carried live on RSU Radio 91.3 FM and on RSU TV2, channel 35.2 and Cox Cable channel 86, along with being simulcast with audio and video streaming on the Hillcat Network at www.rsuhillcats.com/live.