Claremore, Okla. -- In a hard-fought game that went down to the wire, the Mid-America Christian University Evangels came up on the short end of a 90-86 loss to the NCAA II and former Sooner Athletic Conference rival Rogers State University Hillcats in an exhibition matchup Monday night (Nov. 25) at the Claremore Expo in Claremore, Okla. 

The contest featured eight ties and seven lead changes, with each squad's biggest edge at eight points. 

RSU made the deciding push after Jarius Wilson hit a three to bring the Evangels within one at 78-77 with 2:44 left. 

Damien Hooks scored the first two of six straight for the Hillcats over the next 2:17 that suddenly created a seven-point deficit with just 27 seconds remaining. 

But Semar Farris refused to let the Evangels (3-1) go quietly and hit three treys down the stretch that made it a two-point game.  

MACU couldn't get over the hump though as two free throws by Branden Brantley sealed the win for the Hillcats (4-2).  

The Evangels trailed by as many as eight in the first half but closed the period on a 12-5 run to lead 44-40 at the break. 

MACU stayed on the offensive and also built their edge as high as eight on a bucket by Wilson and consecutive scores from Angelo Lewis that made it 59-51 at the 14:27 mark. 

The Hillcats fought back and tied the score at 68-68 before taking the lead for good on a pair of free throws by Hooks with 7:43 left. 

Farris paced the Evangels with 20 points and seven assists, with Lewis also scoring 20 and pulling down a team-high six rebounds. Wilson chipped in with 18 points. 

Hooks led four Hillcats in double-figures with 29 points along with a team-best seven boards.  Deran Banton added 21 points and hit 13-of-18 at the charity stripe.  

MACU held a slim 30-28 edge overall on the boards, with a 12-7 advantage on the offensive glass.  

The Evangels will next be in action at home against Langston University next Tuesday night (Dec. 3) at 7 p.m. inside the Gaulke Activity Center.