CLAREMORE – Cameron returned to play on Wednesday night at Rogers State after a two-week hiatus, but the Aggies were unable to come away with their first road win of the year, losing 71-59.
The last time the Aggie men's basketball team faced someone else on the court, they were taking on top-ranked Lubbock Christian in a non-conference matchup. With just a couple days of practice under their belt this week, CU was back on the road to face a traditional non-LSC foe in the Hillcats.
Cameron's long break may have influenced their shooting on Wednesday night, hitting on less than 38 percent of their shots from the field including a 4-25 mark from three-point range. Usually an over-75 percent shooting team from the foul line, CU was also unable to keep pace with their average from the charity stripe, making 13 of their 19 free throw attempts.
The Aggies had the advantage on the glass, pulling down four more boards than RSU (39-35), but the Hillcats dominated CU in the paint and on the fastbreak on their way to the win.
Brock Schreiner, averaging over 12 points per game this season, led the Black and Gold with 16 points, 12 of which came in the first half alone. The fourth-year guard was 5-12 from the field but was a perfect 4-4 from the free throw line and added a pair of steals, five rebounds, and three assists.
Marques Warrior Jr. added 13 points, shooting an efficient 5-9 from the field while also leading CU with four helpers in his 26 minutes of action.
Connor Slater chipped in 10 points and seven rebounds, while
Colt Savage led CU with eight boards, but was well short of his season average in scoring (now 14.1 ppg) with five points in the loss.
The Aggies did a good job of hanging with the hometown Cats early, trailing by just one point at the halftime break. After a slow start to the game that saw them score just 14 points in the first 10 minutes of play, Cameron started to push RSU in the final 10 minutes of the half. CU took a seven-point deficit and turned it into a 10-point advantage as a jumper by Savage capped a 7-0 run. The two teams traded buckets until a made shot by Devin Pullum with time expiring gave the home a 35-34 lead at the break.
Neither team could get going early in the second half as the score sat at 43-42 with 12:29 left to play in the game. Rogers State started to knock down shots and led by eight with 9:23 to play. That lead swelled to 13 with 4:43 to play thanks to a couple of threes by RSU super-senior Brewster Peacock. Another 7-0 CU run cut the RSU lead to six with 2:22 to play, but that wouldn't last long as the advantage was back out to 11 just over a minute later. The Aggies were unable to get anything else going as the Hillcats came away with the 12-point win.
Pullum, the Eastern New Mexico transfer, finished with a game-high 26 points to lead RSU while Gerren Jackson added 10 and Peacock chipped in nine points.
The Aggies are now 2-5 as they officially enter Lone Star Conference play this weekend. Cameron visits Oklahoma Christian on New Year's Eve (Dec. 31) with tip scheduled for 7:30 p.m. They then head to UAFS on Jan. 2 at 4 p.m. for the first game of 2022.
