CLAREMORE, Okla.  – Fort Hays State fell to a hot-shooting Rogers State squad 76-63 on Saturday (Dec. 2) at the Claremore Expocenter. The Hillcats hit 11 of their first 14 3-point attempts in the game, producing the most points in a game by a Tiger opponent this season so far. FHSU moved to 5-2 overall, 1-1 in the MIAA, while RSU improved to 3-2 overall, 2-0 in the MIAA.
 
Three-point shooting was the big difference maker in the game for Rogers State, since both teams had 27 field goals made. RSU had 11 threes made compared to just three for FHSU. The Hillcats also made five more free throws in the game to account for the 13-point final spread. Both teams turned the ball over 16 times and RSU had a slight advantage in rebounds, 21-19.
 
Rogers State created its separation from the Tigers with a 10-0 run in a span of 1:49 on the clock in the first half, taking a 10-point lead after the teams played to a 23-23 tie. A few moments later, the Hillcats went on an 8-0 run to get the lead out to 18 before eventually leading by 16 at the half.
 
The closest the Tigers got in the second half was a 10-point margin at the 14:48 and 13:56 marks. But the Hillcats managed to hold their double-digit lead throughout the entirety of the second half. Their largest lead of the game was 21 points with a little over three minutes to go in the game.
 
Elijah Nnanabu led the Tigers with 14 points, while Shaun Riley scored 12 points off the bench. Riley led the Tigers in rebounds with five, and Nnanabu led in assists with five.
 
Isaac Johnson led RSU with 21 points, followed by Rodney Battle with 18 and Caden Fry with 14. Four different Hillcats made at least two 3-point field goals in the game.
 
The Tigers gear up for a couple of tough tests at home next week, set to host nationally ranked Northwest Missouri State on Thursday night (Dec. 7) and Missouri Western (Dec. 9) on Saturday.