SAN ANTONIO, Texas – The No. 9 University of North Georgia (UNG) men's basketball team suffered its second loss of the season in its first game of the River City Holiday Classic in a 67-52 defeat at the hands of Rogers State Tuesday afternoon.

The Nighthawks had a difficult shooting performance in the game that snapped their four-game winning streak. UNG went 16-for-45 (35.6 percent) from the floor and 2-for-8 (25 percent) from three-point range in the loss. 

Rogers State moved to 10-3 on the season with the victory while the Nighthawks fell to 9-2 on the season. 

The Hillcats were led by Anthony Marshall Jr. who posted a game-high 21 points in Rogers State's first ever win over a top-10 team in the NCAA Division II era of the program's history.

The Nighthawks' leading scorers were junior forward Colin Turner and freshman forward Zack Hawkinson. Turner 6-for-13 from the floor for a team-high 13 points while adding six rebounds, one block and one steal. Hawkinson followed with 12 points, seven rebounds, a block and a steal while going 6-for-8 at the free throw line.

The first half was largely an even battle as both teams got quality scoring in the first 20 minutes of the game. UNG led by as many as four points in the first half, but the Hillcats reclaimed the lead and took a 30-26 advantage into the locker room.

In the second half, a Nighthawk scoring drought would result in UNG's ultimate undoing in its first game of the multi-team event. Hawkinson converted on a paint jumper to make it 47-42 with 10:59 to play in the game. It would be the Nighthawks' last field goal for the next 9:04 of game time. 

In that stretch, UNG would go 0-for-6 from the floor with six turnovers as the Hillcats went on an 18-8 scoring run with the only Nighthawk points coming at the free throw line during the drought. 

With 1:55 to play, a layup from freshman guard Ja'mari Arnold made it 63-52 to cut the deficit to 13 points. It would ultimately be UNG's last bucket of the game and the only made shot from the floor for the Nighthawks in the final 10 minutes of the loss. 

While Rogers State only mustered 11 points off turnovers in the game, UNG conceded the ball 18 times which is the second most of any game this season. 

The Nighthawks will look to redeem themselves in the Lone Star State in less than 24 hours when they take on Central Missouri to conclude the River City Holiday Classic at 12 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 18.