BOLIVAR, Mo. -- The #6 SBU Bearcats held off the Pittsburg State Gorillas, winning 81-67 behind the 27 points of Matt Rogers.

Rogers was 6 of 11 from the field and 14 of 19 from the line, just missing the SBU record of 20 free throw attempts set by Ernest "Mudo" Hall in 1991. Nick Kovacevich had 14 points and D'Ante Harris added 12. John Tiemeyer had 7 boards to lead SBU while Kovacevich recorded four steals. Carlos Taylor led PSU with 24 points.

After hitting 16 treys Saturday night versus Missouri Southern, the Bearcats hit just 8 from long range against PSU but outrebounded the Gorillas 35-27. The defense of the 'Cats pleased head coach Jeff Guiot. "We did good holding them under 40%. Any MIAA win is a great win, whether it's your alma mater or not." Guiot, who graduated from Pitt State in 1987, is now 11-2 against the Gorillas in his career and 9-2 since becoming Bearcat head coach in 2004.

SBU learned earlier in the day they had moved back up in the national NABC Coaches Poll to #6, though this fact didn't matter to Guiot. "We don't look at the national ranking. Regional rank is what matters. They're hard to figure out, but they matter. Really the biggest thing is keep winning. If you win, it helps any ranking. It helps with recruiting and press, which is all good." SBU currently ranks second in the South Central Region behind Central Oklahoma, with new rankings released Wednesday afternoon.

SBU moved out to as much as a 14-point in the first half at 33-19 with 4:19 left in the first half, before the Gorillas would trim the margin to 37-29 at the break. A three-pointer from Brandon Clemons would give SBU its largest lead of the game at 59-39 with 13:28 left in the game. Pitt State would get to within 75-65 with 2:30 remaining but SBU would finish off PSU for their 26th consecutive win at the Meyer Sports Center.

SBU improves to 17-3 and 10-3 in the MIAA while Pitt State drops to 9-12 and 4-10 in the MIAA.

The Bearcats will be in action on the road on Saturday afternoon, for a 3:00 pm tipoff with the Bulldogs of Truman State.

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