OBU Drops First Contest of the Season

CLAREMORE, Okla. - A tough first half shooting the ball along with a hot shooting Rogers State squad proved to be too much for the Oklahoma Baptist men's basketball team on Saturday afternoon as they fell to the Hillcats, 91-84.

OBU shot 27 of 62 (44%) from the field, but did some damage from behind the arc, shooting 15 of 34 (44%). The Bison were also strong at the free throw line, going 15 of 18 (83%) at the charity stripe. Rogers was 30 of 55 (55%) from the field and 7 of 22 (32%) from behind the arc. RSU got to the free throw line 26 times and shot an impressive 92 percent. 

Rogers dominated the paint with a 34-22 advantage and held a 34-29 advantage in rebounding.

The Hillcats used a 14-3 run early in the first half to build their lead out to double digits at 25-14 and then a 12-0 run later in the half to take a 41-20 lead as it was a nightmare first half for the Bison. OBU did respond with a 9-0 run to cut the deficit down to 12 and ended up trailing 44-31 going into the break.

OBU only shot 31 percent in the first half to the Hillcats' 52 percent.

Down 67-52 in the second half, OBU used a huge 14-2 run midway through the second half to cut the deficit down to three points with under eight minutes to play. However, the Bison did not quite have enough juice to complete the comeback as Rogers pushed it back out to 10 and held off any other OBU runs for the seven point home win.

The Bison did shoot 57% in the second half, but unfortunately for them, Rogers State did as well to stay out in front.

Jaquan Simms finished with 19 points including six 3-pointers while Jacque Brown had 16 points, six assists, and two steals and Rashad Lewis had 15 points, five rebounds, and four assists. Kurt Hall scored 11 points while Brantly Thompson had nine points and seven rebounds.

Brewster Peacock led Rogers with 21 points and seven rebounds while Marques Sumner had 16 points and six assists.

OBU moves to 3-1 on the year and will look to bounce back on Thursday as the Bison open GAC play up against the conference favorite Southeastern Oklahoma State. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. from Durant.