FORT SMITH, Ark. – No. 11 University of Arkansas - Fort Smith Men's Basketball used a second-half surge to pull away from Pittsburg State as the Lions remained undefeated at 12-0 with a 72-58 win Saturday at the Stubblefield Center.

The Gorillas had pulled within one at 37-36 early in the half, but the Lions answered with an 11-3 run to go back up by nine at 48-39 with 13:14 left. The Lions then held the Gorillas at bay before a closing run of 11-0 to give the Lions their largest lead at 65-48 with 6:57 left.

UAFS scored all their points in the paint during the run, including three old fashioned three-point plays.

It was the second 11-0 run of the game for the Lions, as they scored the first 11 points of the game and held Pitt State scoreless for the first 4:20. Guard Brandon Scott had eight of his team-high 15 points during the opening run.

Kanaan Holder added 14 points off the bench while VJ Reeves added eight points and eight rebounds, as the second unit totaled 30 points. Guard Christian Moore tallied 10 points with forward Kameron Johnson pulling down a game-high 11 boards.

The Lion defense forced 18 turnovers and had 13 steals, with three each from Reeves and Holder. UAFS had a 24-7 edge in points off turnovers, with 38 points in the paint and 14 second chance points.

UAFS will look to match the best start of the NCAA II era on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. at the Stubblefield Center against Missouri Southern.