JOPLIN, Mo. – The Pittsburg State University men's basketball team outscored Minnesota State University, 9-3, over the final 6:43 to pull out a 62-59 season-opening victory in game one of the MIAA/NSIC Challenge Friday (Nov. 13) at the Leggett & Platt Athletic Center.
 
The Gorillas tied the game on a 3-pointer by Jaxon Holden then pushed in front on a pair of free throws by Trey Starks with 5:09 remaining.
 
Pitt State (1-0) missed its final four shots from the floor and the Gorillas only managed to convert four of eight free throws down the stretch.
 
MSU (0-1) didn't fare much better. The Mavs went 1-for-9 from the field in the game's final 5:00.
 
Holden, who scored a game-high 19 points in his Pitt State debut, made one of two free throws for the game's final three-point margin with 20 seconds left.
 
T.J. Lake then turned the ball over for the Mavericks and Javis Flynn was fouled with 9.5 seconds to play. Flynn missed both foul shots to leave the door open for MSU, but Joey Witthaus' guarded 3-pointer at the buzzer was off the mark.
 
Starks and Josiah Gustafson also scored in double figures for the Gorillas. Starks finished with 13 points, while Gustafson scored 10. Flynn added eight points and seven rebounds.
 
The Gorillas shot just 32.0 percent in the game making 16 of 50 attempts, but Pitt State converted 27 of 37 free throws, outscoring the Mavericks 27-15 at the foul line.
 
Snoop Viser was the lone Mavericks player in double figures with 12 points.
 
Pitt State will close out the two-day, classic-format tournament with a 3 p.m. match-up against St. Cloud State University.