EMPORIA, Kan. – Rogers State men's basketball (3-3, 2-1 MIAA) battled back from down 21 in the second half but couldn't complete the comeback as they fell 85-74 against No. 21 Emporia State on the road Wednesday.
 
Five Hillcats finished in double figures on the night. Anthony Marshall Jr. led RSU with 17 points and six rebounds to go with three assists and a steal. Isaac Johnson put up 14 points with six rebounds, three assists, three steals and two blocks. Rodney Battle, Evan Anderson and Nathan Clover III all contributed 11 points. Battle added three assists, a rebound and a steal while Anderson added two rebounds and two steals. Clover added two blocks and a rebound.
 
The Hillcats started hot as they dashed out to a 7-2 run to open the game. The Hornets quickly answered back with a 10-0 run of their own to take their first lead at 12-7. The teams traded points over the next few possessions, but a 9-2 run gave ESU its first double-digit advantage of the night at 25-15 with just over five minutes left in the half, and later pushed it out to their largest lead of the period at 33-22. RSU fought back and closed out the half on a 6-2 run to cut the deficit to 35-28 going into the break.
 
The two sides went back-and-forth at the start of the second half. With the margin still within seven points at the 17-minute mark, the Hornets used an 11-2 run to go up 54-37 over a three-minute span. From there, they controlled a large portion of the half as they stretched their advantage to its largest at 69-48 with 8:21 left. The Hillcats slowly began chipping away at the deficit and eventually got the lead down to 80-74 with just over a minute left. Unfortunately, the comeback was not meant to be as ESU salted the game away with made free throws down the stretch and eventually claimed the 85-74 win.
 
RSU will be back in action on Saturday, Dec. 9 as they close out the road trip with a stop in Topeka, Kan. and face off against Washburn. Tipoff is set for 3:30 p.m.