PITTSBURG, Kan. – Rogers State men's basketball (13-6, 4-3 MIAA) could not complete the comeback after a slow start on Wednesday against Pittsburg State (9-7, 5-2 MIAA), coming up short 86-73 on the road.
 
Three Hillcats finished in double figures on the night. Anthony Marshall Jr. led all scorers with a season-high 26 points with a team-high six assists and four rebounds. Caden Fry finished one board shy of a double-double with 18 points and nine rebounds. Andrew Masson contributed 12 points with four rebounds.
 
After some back-and-forth in the opening minutes, the Gorillas took control of the game as they went up 15-7 eight minutes into the first half. The Hillcats could not find an answer against Pitt State as they allowed the lead to balloon out to its largest at 34-13 with 5:15 remaining in the period. RSU battled to get the margin back down to 12 at 38-26 but still trailed 43-28 going into the intermission.
 
The Hillcats tried to get back into the game in the second half, but every time they would find some momentum, the Gorillas would put together a run to kill it. Despite their best efforts, RSU couldn't get any closer than 13 points for most of the period. However, with just over five minutes left, they began to make some headway and got as close as 79-71 with 1:19 left. Unfortunately, that would be as close as they would get as Pitt State made their free throws down the stretch and came away with the 86-73 win.
 
The Hillcats will look to bounce back on Saturday, Jan. 18 with the final stop of the four-game road trip in Joplin, Mo. against Missouri Southern. Tipoff is set for 3:30 p.m.