PITTSBURG — Magic Reliford and Albert McBride combined for 41 points to help lead the Pittsburg State University men's basketball team to an 80-75 victory over Harris-Stowe State University Tuesday (Nov. 22) at John Lance Arena/Whetzel Court.

The Gorillas (2-0) scored the game's first 16 points and led by as many as 20 points (50-30) in the first half against the Hornets (0-5).

HSSU, coached by Pitt State alum Michael Cook – a standout guard for the Gorillas in 1991-92, scrapped its way back into the contest in the final 20 minutes of play.

The Hornets outscored Pitt State, 12-3, over the first 4:32 of the second half to trim the Gorillas margin to 53-44 on a dunk by Alex Nunnally.

Pitt State pushed its lead back to 14 points, 62-48, at the 12:14 mark of the second half, but the Hornets countered with a 9-0 run to make it a 62-57 contest with 10:41 to go.

Albert McBride's three-point lay with 6:27 remaining gave Pitt State a 70-61 margin but the Hornets fueled another long run, 12-1, to take a 73-71 lead on Jamarric Hammond's jumper with 3:59 to go.

The Gorillas finally took the lead for good, 76-75, on a pair of free throws by Reliford with 36 ticks remaining. After a missed jumper by Hammond, Jeramy Shaw extended the Pitt State lead to 78-75 with 10 seconds to go.

HSSU had one final chance to tie the game but Patrick Evans missed a guarded 3-pointer and Reliford seal the win with two more free throws in the waning seconds.

Reliford finished the game with 23 points, while McBride added 18 and a team-leading eight rebounds. Shaw contributed nine points and seven rebounds; and Quentin Hardrict Jr. finished with nine points and a team-leading six assists.

Nunnally paced the Hornets with 21 points and 11 rebounds. Hammond and Evans added 17 and 12 points, respectively.