PITTSBURG — Pittsburg State University scored 24 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to break open a tie game and pull away for a 47-23 victory over Emporia State University Saturday (Sept. 14) at Brandenburg Field/Carnie Smith Stadium.

The No. 23 ranked Gorillas (2-0, 2-0 MIAA) built a 23-7 lead against the Hornets (1-1, 1-1 MIAA) midway through the third quarter before ESU scored 16 straight points to knot the score at 23-23 five seconds into the fourth quarter.

Tyler Adkins capped a six-play, 64-yard drive with a two-yard scoring run to put Pitt State ahead 30-23. The Gorillas' drive took 86 seconds of clock time to counter the Hornets' previous game-tying drive.

Back-up quarterback Mak Sexton completed 16 of 20 passes for 190 yards in the contest for the Gorillas. Sexton connected on completions of 30 yards to Elijah Harris and 20 yards to Lorenzo West on the go-ahead drive.

The Hornets missed on a 30-yard field goal on their next possession and Sexton then drove the Gorillas down the field and Adkins scored from four yards out to stretch the margin to 37-23 with 6:51 to play in the game.

The Pitt State defense then came up with a pair of interceptions to thwart ESU's comeback bid. Morgan Selemaea returned a Dalton Cowan interception to the ESU 23 to set up Jared Vincent's fourth field goal of the contest – a 35-yarder with 4:26 to go. KiAnte Hardin then snared another errant Cowan attempt two plays later and returned it 45 yards for a touchdown and the Gorillas final margin of victory.

Adkins finished the game with a team-leading 49 rushing yards, while Kiah Kintchen carried the ball six times for 47 yards for the Gorillas. Tucker Horak scored on a pair of short touchdown runs. West had four catches for 88 yards, while Brenner Clemons added three grabs for 42 yards.

Simanu'a Thomas registered 2.5 quarterback sacks, while Chase Johnston made a team-leading 11 tackles.

Pitt State will return to action next Saturday (Sept. 21) by hosting MIAA rival Northeastern State University at 7 p.m.