ST. CLOUD, Minn. — The Minnesota State University men's basketball team outscored Pittsburg State University, 20-12, over the final 6:05 of the first half to grab a seven-point lead and ride that momentum to an 85-80 victory Friday (Nov. 11) in the opening game of the MIAA/NSIC Challenge.
The Gorillas (0-1) trimmed the Mavericks (1-0) margin to 51-50 with 12:49 to play in the game but MSU used a nine-point run to stretch their margin to 60-50 with 10:33 remaining. The Mavs stretched their lead to 15 points before the Gorillas scored eight of the game's last 11 points to land on the final five-point margin.
Freshman guard Brandon Clifford scored a game-high 24 points in his Pitt State debut. Clifford converted eight of 11 shots from the field. Junior guard Dakota Jones added 22 points, while junior guard Elijah Gaines also scored in double figures with 10 points.
Pitt State shot 55.6 percent from the field in the game, making 30 of 54 shots. MSU countered by shooting 55.2 percent from the floor (32-58). The Mavs owned a sizeable rebounding advantage, grabbing 12 more boards than the Gorillas. MSU scored 20 second-chance points thanks to 13 offensive rebounds.
Jon Fuqua (23), Joey Witthus (20) and Cole Harper (12) scored in double figures for MSU.
The Gorillas will return to action Saturday (Nov. 12) when they take on St. Cloud State University at 5 p.m. (CST).
