WARRENSBURG, Mo. - Rogers State men's basketball (20-8, 11-5 MIAA) caught fire in the second half and came all the way back from down 10 points to claim a 63-61 win over Central Missouri (13-12, 8-8 MIAA) on Thursday. This is RSU's first win in the Jerry M. Hughes Athletics Center in four tries as they move to 5-3 in the all-time series.
 
"What a gusty win," said head coach Justin Barkley. "Our defense was solid in the first half, even though we gave up some shots and some threes, but we held them to 28 points. Our defense really tightened up in the last nine minutes of the game. We did an outstanding job rebounding tonight. We outrebounded that team by eight, and that was our Achilles' heel for much of the first half of the season. Anthony Marshall Jr. really hit some big shots for us. Andrew Mason was also really good. I'm really proud of him going 8-for-9 from the free throw line."
 
Anthony Marshall Jr. led all scorers with 20 points and just missed a double-double with nine rebounds to go with five assists. Andrew Mason added 20 points with four rebounds and two steals. Sam Davidson put up 12 points with six rebounds and a block.
 
After some back-and-forth moments to start the game, the Mules managed to break away with a 9-2 run to go up 18-9 midway through the half. The Hillcats responded with a 9-3 run of their own to get back within one possession at 21-18. However, UCM took a 28-22 advantage into the locker room.
 
RSU reversed the momentum in the second half immediately as they opened the period on a 13-5 run to take their first lead at 35-33 just four minutes in. The Mules didn't stay down as they put together a 15-4 run to go back up 48-39. The Hillcats quickly erased it with eight straight points to get back within one point at 48-47 with 9:39 left. UCM had one last big swing left in them as a 9-0 run gave them their largest lead of the night at 57-47. From there, the RSU defense put on the clamps as the Hillcats rattled off 11 straight points to jump back in front 58-57 with 3:01 remaining. They closed out the game on a 5-4 run to escape with the 63-61 victory on the road.
 
RSU will be back in action on Saturday, Feb. 22 as they travel to Topeka, Kan. for the regular season finale against No. 4 Washburn. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m.