ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – Rogers State men's basketball (14-10, 11-7 MIAA) claimed a hard fought 58-56 win on the road against Missouri Western (15-10, 9-10 MIAA) thanks to a last second jumper from Rodney Battle on Saturday.
 
Battle led all scorers with 21 points as well as six rebounds, three assists and two steals. Kofi Hamilton added 10 points with five rebounds, an assist and a steal. Anthony Marshall Jr. put up eight points with four rebounds, a team-high five assists and a steal. On the defensive end, Isaac Johnson pulled down a team-high eight rebounds.
 
The Hillcats got off to a slow start as the Griffons opened the game on an 8-2 run. RSU found their footing as they were able to hold the lead in check for the next several minutes as the teams traded buckets. MWSU eventually came out on top as they took their largest lead of the game at 27-16 with 6:38 left in the half. From there, the Hillcats caught fire as they tore off a 13-0 run to close out the half and take a 29-27 lead into the break.
 
The second half was a completely different story as both teams went back and forth with six lead changes and five ties. The Griffons opened the period on a 5-2 run to briefly reclaim the 32-31 lead before an Evan Anderson three pointer put RSU in front 34-32. However, four quick fastbreak points gave the advantage back to MWSU 36-34. Both sides traded shots for the next several minutes until the Hillcats were able separate themselves with a 7-0 run to take their largest lead at 41-36 nearly halfway through the period. A 12-2 run gave the Griffons a 53-49 advantage with six minutes left. Marshall Jr. capped off a 6-2 run to tie the game at 56-56 with 1:19 left. After getting a stop on the defensive end of the floor, the Hillcats got the ball back to the front court and called a time out with 12 seconds remaining. Hamilton went up for a go-ahead layup but had his shot block with three seconds on the clock. On the ensuing inbound, Hamilton got the ball to Battle who pulled up from just inside three-point line and knocked down a shot with 0.4 ticks left on the clock to escape St. Joseph with the 58-56 victory.
 
RSU will return to the Claremore Expo Center on Thursday, Feb. 22 to begin the final homestand of the regular season against Central Oklahoma. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.