CLAREMORE, Okla. – Rogers State men's basketball (9-5, 3-5 MIAA) handed Fort Hays State (10-2, 5-2 MIAA) their second loss of the season in a 58-51 upset win on Monday.

The RSU defense put the Tigers in uncomfortable situations all night, forcing them to turn the ball over a season-high 17 times. On the flip side, the Hillcats continued to take care of the ball and notched their fifth-straight game of single digit turnovers, only giving up the ball eight times.

Two Hillcats finished in double figures in the win. Devin Pullum led the way with 16 points and handed out a team-high five assists with two rebounds as well. Joey Saracco knocked down 10 points with two rebounds, two blocks and a steal. Tylan Dean contributed a team-high and personal season-high eight rebounds with eight points, an assist and a steal.

In what was a defensive fight all night, it took three minutes before either made a basket as the Tigers cracked the seal with two made free throws. The teams then traded leads for the next several minutes until RSU took the lead to stay at 9-2 at 12:27. The Hillcats took their first double-digit lead of the game at 24-14, capping off an 18-7 run with 2:07 left in the half. They took a 27-20 advantage into the break.

Fort Hays State started the second half off hot as they cut the deficit to 29-27 as a part of a 7-2 run to open the period. RSU quickly steadied themselves and responded by pushing back out to their largest lead of the game at 47-36 with 7:06 remaining. With less than three minutes left, the Tigers made every effort to get back into the game but were thwarted at every turn by the Hillcat defense. RSU managed to stifle the comeback and took the upset win 58-51.

The Hillcats will be back in action on Thursday, Jan. 6 as they begin a three-game road trip with a stop in Wichita, Kan. to face off against Newman. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.