CHANDLER, Ariz. – No. 13 Hope International men's basketball made 10 of 12 free throws in overtime to squeeze out an 84-81 victory over Rocky Mountain in the final game of the Cactus Classic on Saturday at the Coyote Center.

Nick Hopkins hit 7 of 8 free throws in the overtime period to finish with 20 points, six rebounds, four assists and a steal. He was 14 of 16 from the charity stripe for the game.

Freshman Aman Haynes posted a career-high 24 points on 9 of 14 shooting, hitting 5 of 6 free throws. He recorded his 11th straight double-digit scoring effort and fourth 20-point game.

Darvelle Wyatt added 12 points and CJ Fisher 11 for the Royals (10-2), which shot 47.2 (25 of 53) percent overall and 82.4 (28 of 34) from the foul line.

HIU overcame a 12-point second half deficit, trailing 52-40 with 13:03 to go. The Royals remained behind by 10 at the under-10 mark, but engineered a 17-6 run to take a 65-64 lead on a Haynes three-pointer with 3:40 remaining. Haynes had 13 of the 17 points during the run.

Three more lead changes ensued, and Rocky Mountain took a 70-68 lead on a Royce Robinson jumper with 50 seconds left. However, Hopkins drew a foul and converted both free throws to tie the score at 70-70. Robinson missed a potential game-winning jumper as time expired.

Rocky Mountain (10-3) hit three triples in overtime, but the Royals were aggressive getting the ball inside and drawing fouls.

Trailing 78-77, the Royals scored six straight points – all on free throws – as Hopkins made four and Wyatt two.  HIU led 83-78 with 21 seconds left as a result, and though Robinson hit a three to cut the deficit to two, Hopkins made one of two at the line to extend the lead to three. 

Omari Nesbit misfired on a game-tying three-point heave as HIU overcame a balanced scoring effort by Rocky Mountain, which had all five starters score in double figures.

HIU is off until Saturday, December 27 when it hosts Justice College at 1:00 p.m.