Sunday, November 21, 2010

RSU Men's and Women's basketball lights up Homecoming 2010


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The eventful spirit week at Rogers State University capped off with the men’s and women’s basketball homecoming doubleheader on Saturday, Nov. 13.

RSU women tipped of the afternoon giving the homecoming crowd on-hand something to cheer about, defeating Langston University 75-68. It was the first time these two teams met since the Hillcats inaugural season in 2007.

Coming into the game, Langston took down Rogers State’s SAC opponents Oklahoma Baptist University 82-79 and Oklahoma Christian 72-53. But those wins didn’t faze the Hillcats as they shot 51.9% from the field, 72.9% from the free throw line and 33.3% from 3-point range.

Reserve player Brittani Smith can attest to the Hillcats steady shooting, as she sparked the Cats with 13 points shooting 3-of-5 from beyond the arc.

“I’ve been getting more comfortable around the three-point line,” said Smith. “Since they decided to slack off of me, I just decided to shoot them.”

“She logged a lot more minutes than she’s use to and played good defense while being a spark on the offensive end of the court as well,” said
Amy Williams, RSU women’s basketball head coach.

The closest the Lady Lions could get within reach of the Hillcats was by four points. Point guard Cortney Crockett hit a double pumped clutch shot to extend the lead to six with 49 seconds remaining in the game. She finished the afternoon with 18 points.

Additional major contributors were junior Angie Criner with 16 points and senior Candice Stewart with 10 points and five boards.

Langston wouldn’t go down quietly as the beastly performance of forward Stephanie Madden led the Lady Lions in double figures with 24 point and 18 rebounds.

The Hillcats created 12 steals off of Langston’s 22 turnovers in the game. Sophomore Logan Froese and senior Andrea Miles both nabbed three steals a piece. It was a team effort for coach Amy Williams’ squad, using ten players on the night with all ten recording points while the Cats dished out 16 assists as a team.

“We just stayed together,” said Crockett. “We just focused on what we had to do to get the win.”

RSU women entered the homecoming match 2-0 beating Ecclesia College on the road 86-32 and Hillsdale Free Will Baptist 96-48 in their home opener at the Expo Center.

Next on deck was the men’s game. Senior Matt Kellogg drained the game-winning shot from long distance with 7.2 seconds left on the clock, sealing a 62-59 victory for the Rogers State men’s basketball team over Southeastern Oklahoma State.

“Thankfully, we had the last shot with Matt Kellogg hitting that big three,” Head Coach Justin Barkley said. “I don’t think we want anyone else on the floor shooting that shot, he came through when it mattered the most.”

The Hillcats kept the Homecoming crowd on the edge of their seats throughout the game. The Cats opened the game trading buckets with the Savage Storm but never trailed after the 16 minute mark.

Yet, the Savage Storm would not go away as they tied the game 59-59 on a layup drive with 2:08 left on the clock.

With time winding down Southeastern missed several chances to take the lead as power forward Alburey Doss came away with crucial rebounds to help lift the Hillcats to victory. Both Doss and senior John Boyd finished with double-doubles.

Boyd led the team, scoring 17 points while snagging 14 rebounds. Doss chipped in 13 points with 12 boards and four steals. And Kellogg drained four treys finishing with 14 points in the game.

“We wanted to come out and play good defensively and I think we did that,” said Kellogg. “This is the first time we held someone under 60."

RSU entered the homecoming game with a 2-1 record. The Hillcats fell to Oklahoma Wesleyan 78-92 in their season opener and to Texas Christian University in exhibition falling 53-70.

The Hillcats rebounded from their loss in their home opener win against Dallas Christian College with a 92-63 victory. Boyd finished the game with a team high of 22 points while adding five rebounds and three steals.

The Hillcats dropped their second exhibition on the road against Oral Roberts University 77-63.
Three players reached career highs in the win over Huston-Tillotson 101-92. Kellogg played all 40 minutes tying the single game record with 32 points. The record was set by Sylvester Spicer back in February 2009 vs. Oklahoma City University.

Deveric Taylor tallied 29 points in 37 minutes of play and junior Joey Twilley set a new career high of 21 points. Kellogg, Taylor and Twilley are the first trio to score 20 points in the same game.

Update:

RSU men are now 4-2. RSU fell 82-85 against Missouri State and defeated Williams Woods 75-53 in the Culver Stockton Classic in Canton, Missouri.

RSU women are now 4-1. RSU defeated Southwestern College on the road 76-55. The Hillcats fell to Langston Univeristy on the road 75-76.

Conference play begins Nov. 23 at home against John Brown University.

Photo by gssphotography.com

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