CLAREMORE, Okla - Rogers State men's basketball (15-7, 6-4 MIAA) pulled out a gritty 88-84 win over Nebraska Kearney (6-11, 4-5 MIAA) in an overtime thriller on Saturday.
 
"This was a gritty win for our team," said assistant coach Jimmy Boone. "What we preach in practice shined through tonight. When things don't go your way, you can't stop fighting. With all the adversity they faced in the game, going down six late and not playing our best defensively, our guys didn't quit and didn't hang their heads. They kept fighting, and I think that was the difference. The second chance points were huge for us tonight, and that was a point of emphasis in practice yesterday. Again, I'm just so proud of the fight our guys showed tonight."
 
Both Jabryn Anderson and Caden Fry led RSU with 20 points apiece, which is a new career-high for Anderson. Fry finished one rebound shy of a double-double with nine boards along with two assists, while Anderson added three rebounds, two steals and an assist. Anthony Marshall Jr. put up 18 points with seven rebounds and a team-high three assists.
 
The Hillcats came out of the gate on fire as they opened on a 17-7 run in the first five minutes. However, the Lopers found their footing and pulled off a 9-1 run of their own to cut the lead down to 18-16. RSU answered back and pushed the advantage back to seven before UNK rallied again to tie things 29-29 and eventually took their first lead at 46-33 with 1:26 left in the period. The Hillcats were able to regain some momentum headed into the break as they closed out the half with a quick 5-0 run for a slim 38-36 lead.
 
Things stayed tight in the second half as there were four ties and a lead change in the first four minutes of the period. UNK sank two quick buckets out of the locker room to jump back in front 40-38 and held the advantage until RSU mounted a quick 4-0 run to go back up 46-44. The two sides went back and forth over the next several minutes, but the Lopers began to break away and took their largest lead of the night at 71-65 with five minutes left. The Hillcats refused to go down as they battled back and were able to force overtime with an Anthony Marshal Jr. layup with 16 seconds left to knot things at 77-77.
 
In the overtime period, RSU took over the game as they outscored UNK 11-7 and knocked down three critical free throws from Benard Omooria and Andrew Mason with 19 seconds left to put the game on ice and seal the 88-84 victory.
 
The Hillcats will be back in action on Thursday, Jan. 30 as they begin a two-game road trip with a stop in Emporia, Kan., facing off against Emporia State. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.