DENVER — Josiah Gustafson scored 21 of his game-high 23 points in the second half as the Pittsburg State University men's basketball team pulled away in the second half for a 72-61 victory over Metro State University Saturday (Nov. 28) at the Auraria Event Center.
 
The Gorillas (5-1) erupted for 48 second-half points against the Roadrunners (2-4) after trailing 25-24 at halftime.
 
Pitt State led 40-37, with 10:06 to play in the game, before the Gorillas used a 12-5 run to gain separation. Gustafson scored seven points in the run and Dakota Jones capped the streak with a 3-pointer for a 52-42 lead with 4:49 remaining.
 
Metro never got closer than seven points down the stretch.
 
Gustafson hit consecutive 3-pointers at the 1:31 mark and the 0:52 mark to turn a 60-53 lead into a 66-53 margin.
 
Jones finished in double figures with 14 points for the Gorillas, while Chris Owens added 10 points and a game-high nine rebounds.
 
Pitt State shot 58.3 percent from the field in the second half, converting 14 of 24 shots. The Gorillas also made all 14 free throw attempts in the second period, finishing the game 20 of 23 from the charity stripe.
 
The Roadrunners got 10 points apiece from DeShawn Phenix and Tony Dobbinson.
 
Metro built a 10-2 lead out of the gates in a first-half where points were hard to come by.
 
The Gorillas, who finally got on the scoreboard with a pair of free throws by Trey Starks at the 16:31 mark of the first period, chipped away at the Roadrunners as both teams shot 37% or lower from the field in the opening 20 minutes.
 
Pitt State got within a point, 14-13, on two free throws by Gustafson. Metro countered with a 5-0 run to extend its margin to six, 19-13. The Roadrunners still led 23-18 on Dobbinson's jumper with 6:33 remaining in the first period, but MSU didn't score again until converting a Dobbinson layup with 1:33 to go.
 
The Gorillas chipped away with Trevor Gregory's layup tying the score at 23-23 with 2:37 to play in the opening stanza.
 
The Gorillas, off to their best start since opening the 2012-13 campaign 10-1, return home to open MIAA play Wednesday against Northeastern State.