KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The Rogers State men's basketball team's fairytale run through the Buffalo-Funds NAIA Division I Men's Basketball National Championship came to an end on Saturday evening as the fell to No. 3 Mountain State (W.Va.), 69-62, in the quarterfinals at Municipal Auditorium.
"The performance and the effort were there tonight," Barkley said. "The kid's hearts were big and our determination was great unfortunately, we didn't make enough shots and couldn't finish around the rim and I think that caused us some problems."
The teams opened the second half trading buckets. With less than 11 minutes to play, Brandon Mims hit a layup to tie the game, 46-46. The Cougars returned with a 12-2 run to give them a 10-point lead and never looked back. The Cats cut the deficit to seven points twice but the shots did not fall down the stretch and they Cougars put the game on ice at the free throw line.
"We didn't lose to a slouch," Barkley said. "Mountain State is a national power house who is here every year and there is a reason why."
The first half was a defensive battle. Larry Cox dished the ball inside to Alburey Doss who hit a layup to give RSU its first bucket of the game and a 2-1 lead at the 15 minute mark. Mims knocked down a pair of free throws to knot the score, 25-25, with just under three minutes to play in the half. They Hillcats then hit back-to-back shots, a trey from Matt Kellogg and a layup by John Boyd, to take a five point advantage. MSU guard, Doug Wiggins knocked down a three-pointer to cut the Hillcat lead to 30-28 at the break.
Kellogg led the Cats in scoring with 14 points. Boyd chipped in 13 points and Francis rounded out the double figure scorers with 11 points. RSU shot 35 percent from the field and 29 percent from long distance. The Hillcats shot 55 percent from the free throw stripe, converting just 2-of-7 from the line in the second half.
There were 10 lead changes in the game and the score was knotted up nine times throughout the contest.
Junior Mark Williams led the Cougars with 18 points. MSU shot 47 percent from the field, 60 percent from the charity stripe and 33 percent from behind the arc.
Rogers State (22-12) ends the season as the first team in the program's four-year history to advance to the round of eight. They are now 2-2 all-time at the NAIA Tournament. This season, they knocked off four Top-25 teams with three of them finishing in the Top 10 in the final coaches poll.
"In the locker room, I thanked our team for the ride they just gave us," Barkley said. "A lot of people counted us out three or four weeks ago. Every one of our guys has a heart of a champion and every one of them will be successful in life and they are going to be great ambassadors for this University. I am so pleased that I get to call myself their coach."
Seniors Alburey Doss, Brandon Mims, John Boyd, Matt Kellogg and Chris Francis played their final game in Hillcat blue and red.
"Our seniors were tough and very critical when we turned the corner this season. They bought into the game plan and I know it wasn't an easy transition but the guys were resilient. I told them I love them and they have an ally for life."
