JOPLIN, Mo. — The Pittsburg State University men's basketball team dropped a 71-62 decision to No. 6 ranked Truman State University in the first game of the Chris Tucker Memorial Classic Friday (Nov. 19).

The Bulldogs (3-0) broke open a three-point game with 10:48 to play in the contest and pulled away down the stretch to defeat the Gorillas (0-3). Truman used a 10-0 run to turn a 57-54 lead to a 67-54 advantage with 6:31 remaining in the game.

Zach Burch scored a career high 21 points to lead Pitt State. He made nine of 15 shots from the floor and added five rebounds and two blocked shots. Tyler Hawkins chipped in with 18 points for the Gorillas.

Truman got a team-leading 20 points from Hunter Straight, 19 points from Cade McKnight and 14 points from Masen Miller. Dylan Peeters added eight points and a game-high 13 rebounds for the Bulldogs.

Pitt State will return to action Saturday (Nov. 20) at 5:30 p.m. (CST) when the Gorillas face Southwest Baptist University in game three action of the two-day, four-team tournament.