CLAREMORE, Okla. – Rogers State men's basketball (4-2) took a 71-53 upset win over East Central (4-1) on Saturday, handing the Tigers their first loss of the season.
 
Four Hillcats finished in double figures in the win. Joey Saracco led RSU with one rebound shy of a double-double with 18 points and a team-high nine rebounds to go with a block and an assist. Sherwyn Devonish-Prince Jr. added 16 points with four rebounds, two assists and a steal. Chris Whitaker put up 11 points with two rebounds, four steals and three assists. Gerren Jackson, who transferred from ECU last season, contributed 10 points with four rebounds and two steals.
 
RSU was sluggish to start as they fell behind 11-0 before Sam Davidson scored the first points for the Hillcats with a jump shot four minutes in. His shot was the beginning of a 6-0 run that would cut the deficit to 11-6. However, the Tigers responded with a 9-2 run to push back out to their largest lead of the game at 20-8 with 8:31 left in the half. From there, RSU began to find their footing and went to work dismantling the deficit. They closed out the half on a 20-11 run to only trail 31-30 headed into the locker room.
 
The Hillcats continued to hold the momentum as they opened the second half on an 8-0 run to take their first lead at 38-31. Another 8-0 run gave them their first double-digit lead of the game at 49-36 with under 14 minutes left. ECU managed to battle back to cut the lead to 51-44, but that would be as close as they would get. The Hillcats eventually cruised to a 71-53 victory thanks to a series of sustained point runs and solid defensive stops.
 
RSU will be back in action on Sunday, Nov. 27 as they travel down the road to Tulsa for one final exhibition game agaisnt Oral Roberts. Tipoff is set for 4 p.m.