AUSTIN, Texas –The Rogers State men's basketball team built a 14-point edge in the second half and held on for a 91-88 win at St. Edward's on Saturday (Jan. 13) at the Recreation and Convocation Center. The Hillcats won their third straight game and moved to 12-5 and 3-2 in the Heartland Conference. The Hilltoppers dropped to 13-5 and 3-3 in league action.

After pulling out to a 10-point edge at halftime at 42-32, the navy and red extended the score to a 14-point lead on a Brewster Peacock triple at the 14:21 mark of the second half for a 58-44 margin. The Cats continued to lead by 14 at 65-51 with 10:36 remaining after a free throw from Chase Littlejohnmade it 65-51.

The Hillcat advantage was still at 13 at 82-69 after two Baron Smith Jr. free throws with 5:43 to go, but the Hilltoppers went on a 12-0 run in less than three minutes to cut the deficit to 82-81 with 3:56 left.

Saint Hilaire took over and hit four straight free throws to extend the edge to 86-81 with 2:31 remaining. Two free throws from Landon Goesling of SEU made it 86-83 at the 1:46 mark.

With 30 seconds remaining, Gage Loy splashed in two free throws to up the advantage back to five at 88-83, and after two points from SEU, Tavian Davis knocked down one of two free throws for an 89-85 score with 18 seconds remaining.

A jumper by SEU's Corey Shervill sliced the margin to only two at 89-87 with 11 seconds remaining. Peacock and Don Leak each split a pair of free throws late for the 91-88 score with three seconds left.

The Hilltoppers got off a shot to tie at the buzzer, but the attempt by Sean Watkins missed for the 91-88 final margin.

Five Cats totaled double digit scoring. Hilaire finished with a career-high 26 points and added eight rebounds. Peacock went for 16 points, and Littlejohn posted 14 points off the bench. Smith tallied 12 points, and Gage Loy added 10 points and eight rebounds. RSU shot 51.9 percent (28-54) from the field.

Landon Goesling of SEU totaled a game-high 29 points. The Hilltoppers shot 37.9 percent (25-66) from the floor and hit 32 free throws, going 32-of-37 from the line for 86.5 percent.

The Hillcats return home for three straight games. The stretch starts with St. Mary's on Thursday (Jan. 18) at 7:30 p.m. inside the Claremore Expo Center. Follow the action on the Hillcat Network at http://www.rsuhillcats.com.