CLAREMORE, Okla. – Rogers State men's basketball (16-12, 12-10 MIAA) took down Lincoln (17-9, 13-9 MIAA) with an 80–68 win on Senior Day in the regular season finale on Saturday.
 
With the win, head coach Justin Barkley earned his 250th career win at RSU. With a record of 250-132 over 13 seasons, he was already the winningest coach in program history.
 
All five seniors scored in their final win inside the Claremore Expo Center. Chris Whitaker led the way as he tied his season-high with 25 points to go with four rebounds and a steal. Joey Saracco finished two rebounds shy of a double-double with 14 points and eight rebounds as well as an assist and a steal. Gerren Jackson finished with 10 points, three assists, two rebounds and a steal. Ugo Obineke added nine points with two rebounds. Sherwyn Devonish-Prince Jr. contributed six points with three rebounds and an assist.
 
Things were incredibly tight in the first half after the Hillcats opened the game on a 4-0 run, with six lead changes and a tie in the first seven minutes. It didn't get any better from there as neither team could get more than a three-point lead for the majority of the half. In total, there were 12 lead changes and seven ties in the period. RSU came out on top as they closed out the half on a 6-0 run to carry a 44-39 advantage into the break.
 
The Hillcats began to build some momentum in the second half as they opened the period on an 8-4 run to take their first double digit lead of the day at 55-43. Both sides continued to battle back-and-forth for most of the half. The Blue Tigers eventually managed to cut the lead down to four points at 67-63 with 6:26 left, but that would be as close as they would get. The Hillcats answered with an 11-1 run to push back out to a 78-64 margin with 2:37 left to effectively put the game away. They eventually went up by their largest lead of the day at 80-65, but a late LU three pointer set the final score at 80-68.
 
With the win, the Hillcats have claimed the No. 6-seed in the MIAA Tournament and a bye to the quarterfinal round. They will face off against No. 3-seed Fort Hays State at 2:15 p.m. on Friday, March 3 inside historic Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Mo.