Claremore, Okla. – The Bearcats traveled to Rogers State Tuesday to take on the Hillcats in a mid-week matchup. The Hillcats would top the Bearcats 70-68 thanks to a layup by Rogers State with just 8 seconds left in the game. The loss moves SBU to 2-2 on the year.

The first half was tightly contested but SBU would use a balanced attack to jump out to a 35-28 lead after two quarters. Neither team was shooting well, both sitting at just below 35% from the field. The Hillcats would lead 18-16 after the first quarter. The Bearcats wouldn't hit a field goal in the 2nd quarter until the 6:30 mark but a three by Piper Francis opened the floodgates going on a 13-2 run and helped SBU go into the break leading 35-28. Bailey Rezabek and Zahria White joined Piper as scoring leaders in the first half with 6 points each.

The Bearcats wouldn't score in the 3rd quarter until the 8-minute mark when Zahria White found the bottom of the net ending a 6-point run by Rogers State. Shooting continued to haunt the Bearcats in the 3rd quarter as the Hillcats outscored the Bearcats 21-13. SBU led 51-49 heading into the final quarter of play. The Hillcats would start the final period hot shooting 7-9 to start the quarter with a couple of threes. With a 13-0 run late in the 4th quarter, SBU tied the game with just 38 seconds left. However, the Hillcats found the net with 8 seconds left to take a 70-68 lead. The Bearcats ended up missing a couple of layups as the buzzer sounded.

Bailey Rezabek and Zahria White led the Bearcats in scoring with 14 apiece. Bailey would also pitch in a team high 9 boards, 2 assists and 2 steals. Piper Francis also added 10 points, shooting 4-8 from the field. Alexus Johnson added in 9 points and 4 rebounds.

The Bearcats will return home Saturday at 1:30 as a part of a basketball double header with the men's team playing afterwards. SBU will play host to the 2-2 Jets from Newman University.