JOPLIN, Mo. - Rogers State men's basketball (14-6, 5-3 MIAA) used a 39-point second half to erase a 10-point halftime deficit and take down rival Missouri Southern (9-8, 4-4 MIAA), escaping with the 75-73 win on the road Saturday.
 
"Any time you can get a win on the road in this league, it's a good thing," said head coach Justin Barkley. "This game was a tale of two halves. In the first half, we weren't really engaged, especially on defense. Our body language wasn't where it needed to be if we were going to pull this one off, and thank goodness halftime came. We began to make some moves in the second half thanks to Benard and Sam, with our guys getting them looks and making plays for them. I'm happy for the entire group. With the loss of Kofi, we have some guys who are still adapting and getting comfortable in some new roles."
 
Four Hillcats finished in double figures in the win. Sam Davidson led all scorers with a career-high 23 points, shooting 8-for-11 from the floor and an impressive 7-for-9 from deep. Benard Omooria put up 15 points, going 4-for-7 from three. Anthony Marshall Jr. added 12 points. Andrew Mason contributed 11 points with a team-high seven rebounds. Jabryn Anderson was also effective, dishing out five of RSU's 10 assists.
 
The game went back and forth in the early goings with five lead changes and one tie in the first five minutes. The Hillcats began to break away with a quick 8-0 run to get out to a 14-8 lead. The Lions responded with their own 10-2 run to take a 19-16 advantage with just over 12 minutes left in the half. RSU managed to jump back in front 28-26 with under eight minutes left. Unfortunately, MSSU got hot and closed out the period on a 20-8 run to carry a 46-36 lead into the break.
 
After the Lions pushed the margin out to 13 points at 56-43 to start the second half, the Hillcats went to work trimming the deficit and engineered a 23-9 run over the next seven minutes to claw all the way back and retake the lead 66-65 with 7:06 left. Things stayed close for the remainder of the game with four more lead changes and two ties. Marshall Jr. put the game on ice with a layup to give RSU its final 75-73 lead as the Hillcat defense held off the Lions in the final 90 seconds.
 
RSU finally returns to the Claremore Expo Center on Thursday, Jan. 30 after a four-game road trip to host Fort Hays State. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.