SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Missouri S&T's men's basketball team struggled to slow down a strong inside attack from Rogers State Friday afternoon and dropped an 84-63 decision on the first day of the Doubletree Classic at Drury University.

Christopher Miller and Gabriel Ferriera combined for 28 points and 11 rebounds – with Miller going a perfect seven-of-seven from the floor – as the undefeated Hillcats controlled play for much of the afternoon to drop the Miners to 1-3 on the season.

Rogers State (6-0) jumped out to a 13-0 lead to start the game, but the Miners rattled off 13 straight points themselves and tied the game when CJ Hedgepeth (Evansville, IN/Harrison) hit two free throws at the 12:06 mark.  However, the Hillcats went on another spurt, outscoring the Miners 21-5 over the next seven minutes to take their largest lead of the half at 34-16.

S&T cut into that margin, trimming it to five on a short jumper by Nolan Lamb (Lee's Summit, MO/Lee's Summit North) with just over four minutes remaining in the half, but trailed by eight at the intermission.  Rogers State scored 18 points off 10 S&T turnovers in the first half as the Miners shot only 39.1 percent in the first 20 minutes of play.

The Hillcats expanded their lead at the start of the second half, using a 10-0 run after the Miners were within eight at the 16:31 mark following a Dulan Scott (Chicago, IL/Farragut Academy) three-pointer.   That lead remained in double figures for the balance of the contest, as S&T only got as close as 13 from that point.

Missouri S&T got 17 points from Scott and 10 from Hedgepeth, but shot only 36 percent from the field in the contest and made eight-of-26 from three-point range.  S&T did outrebound Rogers State by a 36-32 margin, but was hampered by 21 turnovers that the Hillcats turned into 36 points at the other end.

Miller's 19 points led Rogers State, who had five players in double figures.

Missouri S&T will face Southern Arkansas in its second game of the Doubletree Classic Saturday at 1 p.m.