CLAREMORE, Okla. – Rogers State men's basketball (12-10, 8-8 MIAA) took a 78-67 win over rival Northeastern State (10-10, 7-9 MIAA) on Saturday in the Claremore Expo Center, snapping a four-game losing streak to the RiverHawks.
 
Chris Whitaker led RSU with a season-high 25 points to go with five assists and three rebounds. Isaac Johnson put up 15 points with four rebounds and two assists. Ugo Obineke logged nine points with three rebounds, three steals and a block. Kofi Hamilton contributed eight points with a team-high five rebounds, two assists and a steal.
 
The first half was a hard-fought, back-and-forth period. A quick Isaac Johnson layup gave the Hillcats an early 2-0 lead, but NSU responded with an 8-2 run to go up 8-4. RSU battled back to tie things at 17-17 before the RiverHawks ran their lead back out to 24-19. Once again, the Hillcats fought to tie the game at 25-25 with NSU going on another 8-2 run to take their largest lead of the game at 33-27 with four and half minutes left in the period. However, an 8-0 RSU run that included two threes from Whitaker gave the lead back to the Hillcats 35-33. NSU kept it close down the stretch and briefly retook the lead on a three ball with under a minute left. Whitaker would knock down another shot from downtown with five seconds left to send the game to the break tied at 40-40.
 
The Hillcats came out of the locker room on fire as they opened the second half with five fast points to jump back out in front 45-40. After the RiverHawks answered with four-straight points of their own to cut the deficit to one point, RSU ripped off a 12-4 run to go up 57-48. The Hillcats slowly began to build out their lead further and took their first double-digit advantage at 65-54 to effectively put the game away. Anytime NSU attempted to build any momentum down the stretch, RSU was there to quickly snuff it out. The Hillcats eventually salted the game away with free throws to claim the 78-67 victory.
 
The Hillcats will be back in action on Thursday, Feb. 9 and will have a tall task in front of them as No. 4 Northwest Missouri rolls into the Claremore Expo Center. Tip off is set for 7:30 p.m.