TAHLEQUAH, Okla. - Rogers State men's basketball (13-5, 4-2 MIAA) stunned archrival Northeastern State (10-5, 4-2 MIAA) and snapped their five-game win streak with a last-minute comeback to steal the 82-80 victory on Saturday. The Hillcats have now won four straight over the RiverHawks and improved to 12-5 in the all-time series.
 
"NSU is a good basketball team and they have the league's leading scorer in Trey Phipps, who is really good," said head coach Justin Barkley. "He and Ethan Blackmon were a handful today and gave us all kinds of fits. It took a little bit to get in a rhythm defensively today. Anytime we would get a stop and start feeling good and get close, we would let our foot off the gas. We had a tough time stacking good possessions defensively and struggled to get over the hump. In the second half, we started to do some different things and Benard Omooria came in and hit some big shots to keep us in the game. We had a lot of guys do a lot of good things today."
 
Four Hillcats finished in double figures in the win. Anthony Marshall Jr. and Kofi Hamilton led the way with 17 points apiece. Marshall Jr. posted his first double-double of the season with a game-high 11 assists. Angus Ole put up a career-high 15 points, shooting 6-for-8 from the field and 3-for-4 from deep. Caden Fry was a force in the post, scooping up 12 rebounds.
 
RSU started the game hot as they opened on a 7-2 run out of the tip. However, NSU found their footing and responded with a 13-5 run to jump in front 13-12. They eventually pushed out to a 34-25 advantage with five minutes left in the half. The Hillcats used a 7-0 run to get within two points at 34-32 but still trailed 43-38 headed into the intermission.
 
The RiverHawks continued to hold the momentum early in the second half as they went back up 50-41 three minutes into the period. With 13:57 left, they took their largest lead of the game at 56-46. RSU immediately went to work trimming the deficit and got it all the way down to 58-57 thanks to an 11-2 run that included three shots from downtown from Omooria and Ole. However, NSU responded by pushing the lead back out to nine at 73-63 with six and a half minutes left. With just 2:31 remaining, the Hillcats caught fire and went on a 12-2 run to close out the game and escaped the NSU Events Center with the 82-80 victory.
 
The Hillcats have now put together back-to-back comeback wins in Tahlequah after they erased a 17-point deficit in the 89-87 overtime victory last season.
 
RSU will be back in action on Wednesday, Jan. 15 as they begin the final leg of the current four-game road trip in Pittsburg, Kan. when they face off against Pittsburg State. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.