WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. | Luis Gonzalez scored 27 points to lead the University of Puero Rico-Bayamon past Young Harris College 97-85 in a non-conference men's basketball game Tuesday (Nov. 20) evening at Rubin Arena on the campus of Palm Beach Atlantic University.

The Cowboys improved to 2-0, while the Mountain Lions fell to 1-5. Young Harris returns to action Nov. 28 when they host Belmont Abbey College in a 7 p.m. contest at the YHC Basketball Arena.

UPRB jumped out to a 10-0 lead; however, the Mountain Lions used an 11-1 run to take a 19-18 lead on a Kone jumper with 11:03 left in the first half. Kone, who went 8-of-9 from the floor, led Young Harris with 17 points.

The Cowboys took control of the game with a 15-2 run that saw UPRB open up a 41-28 lead on a layup by Giovanni Pastrano with 5:04 to go before the half. Young Harris reeled off nine unanswered points to close within four points (44-40) after Brian Harper sank two free throws with 93 seconds left. That would be as close as the Mountain Lions got the remainder of the game as the Cowboys extended their lead to as many as 15 points in the second half. 

Luis Cuascut added 20 points, while Evander Ortiz (19) and Pastrano (14) also finished in double figures for UPRB. Pastrano, Cuascut and Ortiz each pulled down seven rebounds for the Cowboys. 

Kone also pulled down seven rebounds for the Mountain Lions, while Nicksen Blanc had 15 points and eight rebounds.  Paul Miller finished with 12 points, while Justin Jones added 11.