CLAREMORE, Okla. – Rogers State men's basketball (18-8, 9-6 MIAA) took care of business against Northwest Missouri (4-18, 2-11) Saturday afternoon as they claimed a 75-70 victory. This was the Hillcats first-ever win against the Bearcats since joining the MIAA.
 
"I thought we played well and our defense was really good today for the most part, despite giving up 70 points," said head coach Justin Barkley. "It feels great to finally beat Northwest Missouri, as they've had their time in the sunshine and will likely improve drastically soon. Our focus was a little off late in the game, but when we were in the zone most of the game, our defense turned into offense. We were efficient in passing the ball and were unselfish, which you love to see as a coach."
 
Andrew Mason led the Hillcats in scoring with 17 points and had a block. Caden Fry finished one point shy of a double-double with nine points and pulled down a career-high 13 rebounds. Anthony Marshall Jr. put up 15 points and collected five assists. Sam Davidson added 13 points and tallied two steals. Jabryn Anderson contributed nine points and had a block.
 
Both teams took a while to get going offensively, as the game was tied at nine points apiece at the 13:46 mark. The Hillcats trailed 17-16 with 8:41 left but got going when they went on a 16-5 run to take a 32-22 lead with three minutes before halftime. However, Northwest responded with a 6-0 run to close out the half and only trailed 32-28 at the break. 
 
The Hillcats bolted out to a 13-point lead, opening the second half on a 14-5 run for a 46-33 lead. The Bearcats hung around the double-digit deficit mark and eventually were able to cut the lead to 52-47. However, the Hillcats dominated the next seven minutes of gameplay, going on a 16-4 run, to take a 68-17 lead with 3:09 left. Northwest refused to go away and made the contest interesting, scoring 19 points in the final three minutes. RSU dug deep and was able to salt the game away going 6-for-7 from the free throw line in the final minute to secure the 75-70 win.
 
The Hillcats return to action on Saturday, Feb. 15 when they host in-state rival Central Oklahoma to finish out the three-game homestand. Tipoff is set for 3:30 p.m.