CLAREMORE, Okla. – Rogers State men's basketball (11-9, 8-6 MIAA) dropped a heartbreaking 80-74 overtime game to Washburn (14-6, 10-4 MIAA) on Thursday.
 
Four Hillcats finished in double figures. Both Isaac Johnson and Rodney Battle led RSU with 14 points apiece with Johnson adding a team-high six rebounds, two assists and two steals while Battle added three rebounds, three assists and two steals. Kofi Hamilton put up 13 points with three rebounds, two steals, an assist and a block. Evan Anderson contributed 10 points with two rebounds and two steals.
 
After the Ichabods opened the game on a 4-0 run, RSU responded with a 10-0 run to jump out 10-4. They eventually pushed out to a double digit lead at 21-11 with just over nine minutes left in the half. With the Hillcats up 29-21, Washburn began to fight back late in the period as they strung together a 7-0 run to cut the deficit to one point at 29-28 with a minute left. However, a final three pointer from Battle with 30 seconds left gave the Hillcats a 32-28 lead going into the break.
 
The second half was much more tightly contested as the Ichabods came out of the locker room on fire, rattling off five quick points in the first 45 seconds of the half to claim their first lead since the beginning of the game at 33-32. That lead was short lived though as the two sides traded buckets over the next several minutes with three lead changes and two ties. RSU began to distance itself with a 19-5 run to go up by their largest margin at 59-49 with 8:52 left. Washburn slowly began to come back with a 9-0 run of their own to erase the advantage and bring the margin within one point at 59-58. The two sides went back-and-forth for the next few minutes until Washburn went on an 11-2 run for their largest lead of the night at 69-63 with 1:14 left. RSU fought back with a 4-0 run that included a jumper from Battle with under 10 seconds left to send the game to overtime 69-69.
 
In the overtime period, the Hillcats could not find any momentum as the Ichabods scored the first six points to go back up 75-69. Despite getting within one point of the lead at 74-73, foul trouble got the best of RSU down the stretch as Washburn made five-straight free throws in the final minute to claim the 80-74 win.
 
The Hillcats will look to rebound on Homecoming Saturday on Feb. 3 as they play host to Emporia State. Tipoff is set for 4 p.m.