CLAREMORE, Okla.- The Jets started 2025 on the road against Rogers State. The Jets fell 76-66.
How it Happened:
- The Hillcats scored the first bucket of the game on their first possession. The Jets had a few turnovers to start the game, but Boston Stanton III was able to connect for the Jets first points to put the game at 2-2. Rogers State then went on a small 4-0 run to take their lead out to 6-2. Stanton III then earned his way to the foul line, where he connected with one of two. The Hillcats offense continued their scoring streak with a three-pointer to take the lead by six. The Hillcats extended their lead to nine after a bucket by Caden Fry, but Boston III answered with his second basket of the contest. Heading into the first media break, the Hillcats secured the lead at 12-5. Out of the media break, the Rogers State offense continued to roll taking their lead out to 17-9 with under 13 minutes left to play. Aaron Murphy connected with his first basket of the contest, but this basket was followed by a Hillcats three which allowed the Hillcats to keep the nine-point lead. Deadric Fikes gave the Jets offense some energy after a dunk that closed the gap to seven points. Murphy added onto this Jets run with his second basket of the night, making it a 20-15 Hillcats lead heading into the second media of the half. The Hillcats were first to strike after the media break, but Aime Rutayisire answered back with a layup. Rogers State then went on a small run to take their lead to 26-17 with eight minutes to play. Sam Somerhalder ended the Hillcats run with his first points. RSU then went on a four-point stint to take their lead to double-digits, 11. Heading into the final media timeout of the half, the Jets trailed 30-21. Out of the timeout, Murphy was first to score to cut the deficit to seven. Both defenses held the offenses scoreless for two minutes until Caden Fry of RSU scored his tenth point with 2:35 left in the half. Jordan Glenn-Hawkins connected with his fifth point on the night to cut the Hillcats lead to eight with just over a minute left in the half. RSU then completed an and-one to take their lead back out to 11 points. Murphy connected with the Jets final basket of the half with 28 seconds left. The Hillcats were fouled behind the arc with six seconds left, connected with all three to extend their lead to 42-28 heading into halftime. First-half turnovers proved costly to the Jets, as the Hillcats scored 14 points off of the Jets 13 turnovers. Both teams shot over 44% from the field in the first half of play. Murphy led the Jets with eight points in the first 20 minutes of play.
- To start the second half, the Hillcats went on a 7-0 run which forced the Jets to take a timeout at the 19-minute mark.This seven-point Hillcats run put the score at 49-28. Out of the Jets timeout, Stanton III hit the first basket for Newman in the second half. Rutayisire followed this basket with points of his own to make the score 49-32, still in favor of RSU.The Hillcats were able to answer this 4-0 Jets run with a three-pointer to extend their lead out to 20 points with under 18 minutes to play. Another three by the Hillcats gave them their largest lead of the game at 23 points. The Jets continued to try and battle back, but the Hillcats continued to answer and keep the Jets at a distance. Heading into the first media break of the half, the Jets trailed 61-35. After the timeout, Murphy scored his tenth point of the contest. After the bucket, the Jets defense stepped up, putting a few stops together. However, the Jets offense couldn't get going during this stint. At the 12:49 mark, RSU was able to score to take the game to 64-37. The Jets then went on a 4-0 run heading into the second media timeout of the half. At the timeout, the Hillcats held steady with their lead at 64-42.Starting at the six-minute mark, the Jets went on a 13-1 run which allowed the Jets to close the gap to 71-59 with under four minutes left to play. During the Jets 13-1 run, Murphy, Stanton III, Somerhalder, and Thatcher McClure all scored. This run forced the Hillcats to take a timeout. Somerhalder then connected with his ninth point to cut the Hillcats lead to ten with 2:15 left to play. On the following Jets offensive possession, Devin Walker connected with his third basket of the night to cut the score to 71-63. After a timeout at the 1:27 mark, the Hillcats scored to make it a ten-point game. However, Murphy connected with three straight points to cut it to seven with under a minute to play. The Jets were then forced to foul the Hillcats in hopes of completing the comeback. RSU was able to close the game out at the free-throw line. Newman dropped the contest, 76-66.
Player Notes:
- Murphy led the Jets with 18 points, going 8-12 from the field and pulled down six rebounds. 18 points ties Murphy's career-high as a Jet.
- Stanton III scored ten points with seven rebounds.
- Somerhalder scored nine points with eight rebounds.
