THE RUNDOWN
PUEBLO, Colo. – For the second time in two days, Midwestern State climbed its way out of a deep hole Saturday afternoon against Rogers State in the finale of the CSU-Pueblo Conference Challenge.

But just like the previous game against Arkansas-Fort Smith, the Mustangs were unable to finish it off for the win as MSU fell to 0-2 with a 73-67 loss.

Tate Turner led a trio of Hillcats in double figures with 17 points and five rebounds. The junior guard from Independence, Kan. hit two of Rogers State's four 3-pointers in a 25-5 opening salvo over the first 8 1/2 minutes of the game.

Midwestern State used a 9-2 run to whittle the RSU lead to seven at 29-22 on a Logan Hicks 3-pointer with 3:05 remaining before halftime but Turner connected on three free throws after he was bumped on a buzzer beating attempt at the half to stake the Hillcats to a 40-27 intermission lead.

But MSU kept coming in the second half as Trey Kennedy and Brandon Neel nailed triples during an 11-0 run to take its first lead of the game at 46-45 with 13:02 to play.

After the teams traded the lead over the next minutes, Kennedy converted a pair of layups to give the Mustangs their largest lead of the night at 51-47 with 9:04 to play.

Rogers State answered with an 18-3 run to push its lead back into double figures at 65-54 on a Gage Loy 3-ball with 3:05 left. The Mustangs would get no closer than six the rest of the way.

Hicks paced the Mustangs for the second time this weekend with 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting with two 3-pointers. Neel and Kennedy chipped in 15 points each, while Nick Powell scored 10 points off of the bench.

Rogers State evened its season record at 1-1 after taking an 84-65 loss to homesteading Colorado State-Pueblo on Friday.
 
NOTES
- Midwestern State is 0-2 for the first time since 2007-08 and for the second time in the NCAA era.
- Sophomore guard Logan Hicks scored in double figures for the sixth time in 10 career games.
- Senior Nick Powell notched his second straight double-figure off of the pine. It was seventh career outing with at least 10 points.
- Senior Brandon Neel knocked down three triples to finishing iwht 15 points and five rebounds.
- Junior Nemanja Krtolica scored seven points and grabbed five rebounds in 14 minutes off of the bench.
 
UP NEXT
Midwestern State takes on Vinay Patel's Oklahoma City Stars in an exhibition game Tuesday night at D.L. Ligon Coliseum. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. The game was originally for Monday, Oct. 30.