KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Rogers State fought back within one point Saturday at Mason-Halpin Field House but were unable to overcome the Hawks as the Hillcats fell 77-73 in the men's basketball non-conference tilt.
 
RSU trailed 38-24 at the intermission as Rockhurst was led by Gabe Brown with 13 first half points. The Hawks opened the second stanza with a 10-2 run in the first 3:12 of the half to build a 22 point advantage.
 
Kyler Ng answered with a 3-pointer as the Hillcats began to slowly chip away at the deficit with an 19-5 run of its own over the next six minutes of play. Back-to-back long distance points by Ng started the run while Johnathon Buckley and Tavian Davis added a pair of behind the arc buckets of their own during the run. Buckley capped the run with a traditional three point play of his own to bring RSU within eight at 53-45 with 10:15 remaining.
 
The Hawks built the lead back to double-digits with a pair of free throws by Kaleb Warner and kept the difference hovering around 10 points over the next seven minutes of action. A Connor Evans 3-pointer with 3:19 to go put the Hawks ahead 71-59 but RSU fought back.
 
JD Tisdale hit a 3-pointer of his own followed by a steal defensively and a pair of free throws to pull the Hillcats back within seven. A Ng steal led to a transition layup by Buckley and then a unforced Rockhurst turnover resulted in a Baron Smith Jr. 3-pointer to put RSU within two at 71-69 with two minutes remaining. RSU couldn't grab the lead in the final stretch and the Hawks topped the Hillcats 77-73.
 
Rockhurst (5-4) was led by Malachi Nix with 23 points and Gabe Brown with 20 points while Warner finished with 12 points. The Hawks shot 43.1 percent from the field and 80.8 percent from the charity stripe.
 
Rogers State (6-3) was led by Tisdale with 19 points while Jeylyn Sharpe tallied 13 points and Smith finished with 12 points for the Hillcats. RSU struggled from the free throw line shooting 65.2 percent but hit 62.5 percent from 3-point range hitting 10-of-16.
 
The Hillcats return to Claremore to face Randall University on Tuesday, December 13 at the Claremore Expo with tip scheduled for 7 p.m. Play-by-play coverage will be provided on RSU Radio 91.3 FM and simulcast with audio and video streaming on the Hillcat Network at www.rsuhillcats.com/live.