WARRENSBURG, Mo. – The Pittsburg State men's basketball team delivered down the stretch to claim a 63-58 victory over an upset minded Central Missouri inside the Multipurpose Building today (Jan. 30).
 
Leading 32-23 at halftime the Gorillas opened the second half with a 13-4 run, making it 45-27 with 15:00 remaining in regulation. Central Missouri (10-9, 5-8 MIAA) chipped away at the lead cutting it down to three with less than five seconds remaining but a pair of free throws from Max Alexander maintained the win in the closing seconds.
 
Pittsburg State (11-8, 7-6 MIAA) was led by Deshaun English II with a team-high 15 points and 10 rebounds for his seventh double-double of the season. Tanner Mans in his first start of the season finished with 12 points going 3-of-5 from three. Jordan Frison led the team with six assists adding nine points and Braydon Redd led the bench effort with seven points.
 
UCM was led by Tim Jordan Jr. with 15 points and eight rebounds while Jordan Hayes finished with 11 rebounds, eight points, five assists and three steals. Corey Skillman Jr. finished with 12 points and Caleb Nero had 10 points off the bench.
 
Up next for the men will be a road trip to Central Oklahoma (Feb. 1) and Newman (Feb. 3) to close out the week.