CLAREMORE, Okla. - The Rogers State University Hillcats held off a late comeback attempt by the Northwest Missouri State University men's basketball team to secure a 75-70 victory Saturday at the Claremore Expo Center.

The Bearcats trailed by 68-51 with 3:07 to play before cutting the margin to four points in the final minute before the Hillcats hung on for the five-point triumph. It is the first victory for Rogers State in the all-time series with Northwest. The Bearcats had won the previous eight encounters.

Rogers State improves to 18-8 overall and 9-5 in MIAA play. Northwest suffered its eighth straight to dip to 4-18 overall and 2-11 in MIAA play.

The Hillcats shot 53.1% from the floor, including 8-of-13 from three-point range (61.5%). Northwest shot 43.% from the field and drained seven three-pointers (25.9% 3FG%).

Northwest had four players reach double-figure scoring led by Luke Moustakas with 15 points. Moustakas collected his first career double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Ja'Vion Byers came off the bench to contribute 14 points on 5-of-11 shooting and he latched on to a team-high four steals. Marcus Glock sank a trio of three-pointers and reached 13 points to go along with five rebounds. Padraig Gallagher knocked in 4-of-5 shots from the floor and 2-of-3 from three-point land to chip in with 12 points.

Northwest built a five-point first-half lead at 14-9 with 12:32 on the clock. Rogers State used a 12-0 run to take a 25-17 lead with 5:55 left in the half. The Hillcats led by as many as 10 points in the opening half at 33-22, but the Bearcats closed to within 32-28 at the break.

The Hillcats took the lead to 13 at 42-29 with a 10-1 start to the second half. A Glock three-pointer with 10:32 remaining pulled the 'Cats to within 52-47. But just as quickly as the Bearcats sunk into the Hillcat lead, Rogers State pushed it right back to 13 at 62-49 with 5:45 left. 

Rogers State took its largest lead of the game at 68-51 with 3:09 to play. Northwest refused to wilt and turned up its play on both ends of the floor. Jack Ratigan and Byers began the rally with a pair of buckets. Moustaskas buried a three-pointer with 2:00 left to slice the lead to 10 at 68-58. Byers rang up a steal and layup to cut the lead to eight. RSU's Sam Davidson missed a pair of free throws with 1:29 to go and Trey Moala made the Hillcats pay with a bucket and drew a foul with 1:21 to play. Moala could not convert the conventional three-point play leaving RSU with a 68-62 lead. Northwest forced Rogers State into another turnover and Byers scored a two-point bucket to leave the Bearcats down 68-64 with :56 remaining in the game. 
Rogers State made six straight free throws, and 7-of-8 overall while Northwest continued to convert baskets on its end of the floor in the final minute. Northwest trailed by four points at 68-64, 70-66 and 72-68 but could not get the margin under four in the final minute. A Glock bucket with :03 left was the game's final score and RSU held on for the 75-70 win.

Northwest will return home to take on Missouri Southern (Thursday) and Pittsburg State (Saturday) in Bearcat Arena.

NOTES: Northwest won the rebounding battle, 35-29 ... Northwest's bench out-scored the RSU bench, 35-12 ... Northwest scored more paint points than RSU, 38-28 ... Northwest turned the ball over 11 times after serving up a season-high 26 turnovers on Thursday at Central Oklahoma ... Rogers State was credited with 12 turnovers ... Northwest tied a season-high with nine steals ... Moustakas set a career-high with 10 rebounds ... Glock has made at least one three-pointer in 16 consecutive games ... Glock has made two or more three-pointers in 14 games this year ... Glock has made three or more three-pointers in six MIAA games this season ... Northwest has lost eight games in a row - its longest losing skid since a nine-game losing streak in the 1975-76 season ... Northwest's 11 MIAA losses are the most for the Bearcats since dropping 14 MIAA games in the 2010-11 season.