Box score | Season stats

KIRKSVILLE, Mo. -- The eleventh-ranked SBU Bearcats returned from a two-and-a-half week layoff and picked up a tough road win at Truman State, winning 70-62 Wednesday night. All-American Matt Rogers led the Bearcats (12-2, 3-1 MIAA) with 29 points and nine rebounds.

"It sounds like a broken record, but any MIAA win is a good win. An MIAA road win is a great win," said head coach Jeff Guiot. "Coming off the break, I thought we were okay. Truman makes you guard for the full shot clock, which is a definite contrast in styles to what we like to do. For the most part, we were disciplined in our assignments. I was happy with one turnover but a little disappointed in our rebounding (44-29 in TSU's favor)."

Kurt Koenig had 17 points and seven boards for the Bearcats. Ryan Dougherty led with four assists and two steals. SBU was held to 40% shooting from the field and 33% from outside. SBU committed just one turnover to 16 for the Bulldogs.

SBU led 37-25 at the break and led by as much as 15 midway in the second half before Truman would close to within five points with just over two minutes remaining. Free throws from Koenig and Tomas Brock would seal the victory.

Guiot also noted that his team had a hard time keeping the Bulldogs' Ethan Freeman off the boards. Freeman led the Bulldogs (3-9, 1-4 MIAA) with 17 points and 17 rebounds.

SBU returns home for a two-game home stand, beginning Saturday night, January 2, with 7:30 p.m. game with the Emporia State Hornets. SBU will look to extend their 36-game home court winning streak, the second longest in the nation in Division II behind Findlay.