RSU Athletics
Benjamin Dishong
CLAREMORE – Saint Hilaire scored Rogers State’s first ever triple-double as the Hillcats powered their way to a 104-62 victory over Ecclesia College Monday afternoon at the Claremore Expo Center.
Hilaire, a senior guard, finished with 11 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists in 26 minutes with just one turnover on the afternoon. His 10 assists were also a career high, as he doubled up his previous career mark of five at St. Edwards last January.
Rogers State (12-3) wrapped up the non-conference schedule with the victory, setting a new season high in points, while extending the team’s win streak to six games, the longest for the Hillcats since 2016-17 when they had a streak of seven consecutive wins.
Five Hillcats finished in double figures, with Brewster Peacock, Chase Littlejohn and Tate Turner all scoring 15 points to lead the way for Rogers State. Latrell Tidwell came off the bench to score 12 points in 10 minutes, along with four rebounds.
Peacock was 5-for-7 from the field, including 4-for-5 from behind the arc, to earn his fourth straight 10+ point performance and his eighth of the campaign.
Littlejohn had a trio of three pointers to help the Hillcats set a new season high with 14 made from behind the arc. Turner and Damon Phelps had two each, while Hilaire, Josh Joiner and Tavian Davis each had a three.
Phelps scored his first points for the Hillcats, as the freshman finished with eight points and two rebounds.
Rogers State took a 57-42 lead into the break over Ecclesia (2-18). The big difference in the contest came in the second half with the Hillcats defense tightening up to allow just 20 points from the visitors, while Rogers State added another 47.
The Hillcats shot 56 percent for the contest and 52 percent from three-point range, while holding Ecclesia to just 33 percent shooting, including 22 percent in the second half. The Royals were just 3-for-20 from behind the arc.
Rogers State dominated the glass, outperforming the visitors 51-23 to set a new season high in rebounds. Bryan Battle was second behind Hilaire with six rebounds, setting a new career high for the junior transfer.
The Hillcats spread the ball around as well, finishing with 27 assists, a new season high mark and the second most in program history.
Both programs had 11 turnovers in the contest, but the Hillcats converted those into 22 points, while Ecclesia had just 12 points off Rogers State turnovers.
Rogers State will remain at home as the Hillcats begin the stretch run of Heartland Conference play with a battle against Newman on January 10 at 7:30 p.m. at the Claremore Expo Center. Newman (3rd, 111) was picked just ahead of Rogers State (4, 104) in the Heartland Conference Preseason Poll. The Jets are currently 9-4 with a 1-1 mark in conference play.