HAMMOND, Ind. – The Purdue University Northwest men's basketball team defeated Michigan Dearborn, 82-67, Friday night in the opening game of the Domino's Tip-Off Classic at the Fitness and Recreation Center.

The Pride (1-0) won their first-ever contest as a unified program, thanks to a balanced scoring effort from the Black and Gold.

Torrance Johnson (Chicago Heights, Ill./Chicago Hope Academy) (Chicago Heights, Ill./Chicago Hope Academy) and Max Clifford (Franklin, Ind./Roncalli) (Franklin, Ind./Roncalli) each led the Pride with 18 points while Chandler Spring (Covington, Ind./Covington) (Covington, Ind./Covington) recorded 17 points.

Jai Wright (Richmond, Ind./Richmond) (Richmond, Ind./Richmond) brought down a team-high 10 rebounds and Senior Shereff Knight (Michigan City, Ind./Michigan City) (Michigan City, Ind./Michigan City) tallied eight assists to headline the PNW leaders.

PNW took an early 10-7 lead on a three-pointer from Clifford, his first of four in the contest, before extending that lead to 22-18 with just over 11 minutes remaining in the first half.

Michigan Dearborn would make a small comeback to retake the lead, 25-24, with 5:19 left, but the Pride would answer back with a run of their own, taking a 41-39 advantage heading in to the break.

The Pride would come out hot in the second-half, taking a 10-point lead on a fast break layup from Wright with 14 minutes remaining.

PNW would take its largest lead of the game with 4:39 left in the game, after a layup from Spring gave the Black and Gold a 77-59 advantage.

Purdue Northwest would carry that momentum throughout the rest of the contest, leading them to the 82-67 win.

The Pride won the battle on the boards, 36-34, and held the Wolverines to just 28 points in the second half.

PNW connected on 10 trifectas on the night for a 43.5 percent mark from beyond the arc, and finished shooting 54.8 percent from the field.

The Black and Gold return to action tomorrow night, Oct. 29, when they face off with Grace Bible College at the Fitness and Recreation Center at 6:00 p.m. (CT).