PITTSBURG -- The Missouri Southern State University men's basketball team built a 19-point first half lead then withstood a Pittsburg State  University comeback bid in  the final 20 minutes before claiming a 90-76 victory Saturday (Feb. 3) at John Lance Arena/Whetzel Court.

MSSU (14-8, 9-4 MIAA) built a 19-point cushion, 44-25, with 3:28 to play in the first half. Pitt State (13-9, 6-7 MIAA) charged back to trim the deficit to eight points, 60-52, with 13:50 remaining on a 3-pointer by Xavier Adams. 

The Lions, who got a game-high 34 points from Elyjah Clark, pushed their lead back to 13 points two minutes later. The Gorillas used another 6-0 run to make it a 70-63 game with 10:04 to go, but Clark buried a 3-pointer for a 10-point cushion and Pitt State never got any closer than nine points down the stretch.

Adams and Donovan Franklin finished the game with 18 points apiece for the Gorillas, while Demetrius Levarity added 13 and Jabari Antwine chipped in with 10. Pitt State overcame a 40 percent shooting day (25-62) by making 20 of 27 free throws in the contest.

In addition to Clark's big scoring day, C.J. Carr just missed a triple-double with 18 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists. Kinzer Lambert (11) and Enis Memic (10) also finished in double figures for the Lions.