Complete Notes in PDF Format
Game Day Central
[Live Stats-ESU | Live Stats-UCO | Live Audio | Live Web Cast]
PITTSBURG — The Pittsburg State University men’s basketball team will hit the road for their final regular season road contests Wednesday (Feb. 20) and Saturday (Feb. 23).
Pitt State will travel to Emporia, Kan., Wednesday to face Emporia State at 7:30 p.m. (CST) at William L. White Auditorium. The Gorillas then will venture to Edmond, Okla., Saturday to meet Central Oklahoma at 3:30 p.m. at Hamilton Field House.
The Records
Pitt State enters Wednesday’s action with a 15-7 overall record and a 8-6 mark in MIAA action. The Gorillas have alternated wins and loses in their last eight contests. PSU defeated Northeastern State in the team’s most recent action, 89-59, last Saturday (Feb. 16).
The Gorillas currently sit alone in eighth place in the MIAA standings.
ESU is 11-11 overall and 6-8 in the MIAA heading into Wednesday’s matchup with Pitt State. The Hornets, who currently sit in ninth place in the MIAA standings, defeated Missouri Southern, 69-66, Saturday (Feb. 16) at Joplin, Mo.
Central Oklahoma is 1-11 overall and 9-5 in the MIAA heading into a Thursday (Feb. 21) contest against Missouri Southern. The Bronchos, who currently sit in fourth place in the MIAA standings, defeated Emporia State last Wednesday (Feb. 13), 83-69, in Edmond, Okla.
The Coaches
Pittsburg State’s Kevin Muff is in his third season leading the Gorillas. Muff (Kansas State, ’86) became the Gorillas’ 14th all-time head coach on Apr. 5, 2010, after spending 12 seasons at Cloud County Community College, where he helped the Thunderbirds to an average of 21 wins in each of the last five seasons.
Muff has a 45-34 (.570) record in his short tenure with the Gorillas. He is 3-1 against Emporia State and 1-1 against the Bronchos.
Shaun Vandiver (Colorado, ‘91)is in his first season leading Emporia State. The former NBA first round draft pick joined the Hornets after spending the previous 10 seasons as a Division I assistant.
Terry Evans is in his 11th year as head coach at Central Oklahoma. Evans (Oklahoma, ’93) has compiled a 208-90 (.698) career record leading the Bronchos. He is 1-1 vs. Pitt State.
Series History
Wednesday’s action will mark the 183rd all-time meeting between the Gorillas and Hornets in a series that dates back to the 1917 season.
Emporia State holds a slight 92-90 advantage in the series, including a 54-38 advantage in games played at Emporia. Pitt State swept ESU last season in the teams’ two meetings.
Saturday will mark the 26th all-time match-up between PSU and UCO in a series that dates back to the 1916 season.
The Bronchos hold a narrow 13-12 lead in the series, but the Gorillas hold a 3-2 series advantage in games played in Edmond. Pitt State has won six of the last seven contests between the two schools.
Gorillas on the Road
The Gorillas have compiled a 11-20 (.355) record in road games during the past two seasons. Pitt State is 3-4 on the road this season. The Gorillas posted wins in each of their first two road games, but have since dropped their last three of their last four contests.
Scouting The Gorillas
Pitt State has four players averaging double figures on the season and two more players contributing more than nine points a game: freshman guard Kaleb Porter, senior forward JaVon McGee, senior guard Courtney Ingram, senior guard Marky Nolen, senior center Rico Pierrevilus and junior forward A.J. Adams.
Porter is averaging a team-leading 13.6 points per game, while McGee (12.6 ppg), Ingram (10.9 ppg) and Nolen (10.6 ppg) also are scoring in double figures. Pierrevilus is contributing just under 10 points per game at 9.5 points per contest. Adams adds 9.3 points as well.
Porter, a Tulsa, Okla., native, set a new PSU freshman scoring record with 34 points in Pitt State’s win over MIAA rival Lincoln at the Chris Tucker Memorial Classic on Nov. 16. He had 16 points in the season opener vs. Baker on Nov. 13 and he finished his first week of collegiate competition with a 14-point effort in a win over Avila on Nov. 17 and earned MIAA Player of the Week honors for his effort on Nov. 19.
Porter ranks 20th in the MIAA in scoring, seventh in the conference in free throw percentage (.844, 81-for-96) and 10th in the league in 3-point field goals (2.0 pg).
McGee contributes 12.6 points and a team-leading 7.6 rebounds per game. The Kansas City, Mo., native averaged 16.1 points and 7.3 rebounds per game in Pitt State’s previous nine outings before an injury that kept him out of four games. He returned to action last Saturday (Feb. 16) against Northeastern State, recording 16 points and a game-high 10 rebounds.
McGee, who ranks third in the MIAA in rebounding and 26th in the league in scoring, became the 22nd player in school history to eclipse 1,000 career points on Jan. 19 in the Pitt State win over Fort Hays State.
McGee scored 22 points in that contest and now has 1,030 points in 101 career games, ranking 20th in career scoring. He also has 680 career rebounds, ranking a tie for third place on that PSU career list.
Ingram has scored in double figures in 12 of the last 16 games he has played in for the Gorillas. The Tulsa, Okla., native recorded a double-double against Lincoln on Jan. 10, totaling 16 points and a game-high 13 rebounds. He missed three games (ankle) before returning to the lineup last Saturday.
For the season, Ingram is shooting .459 (68-for-148) from the field and .670 (59-for-88) from the free throw line.
Nolen averages 10.6 points, 5.0 rebounds and a team-leading 1.9 steals per game. The Wichita, Kan., native ranks fourth in the MIAA in steals. He has recorded double figures in seven of the last eight games, averaging 13.3 points per game during that span. He recorded a game-high 22 points Saturday (Feb. 16).
Pierrevilus is averaging 9.5 points and 6.2 rebounds per game on the season. He just missed a double-double last Saturday, contributing 18 points, nine rebounds, three blocked shots and three steals against Northeastern State.
For the season, Pierrevilus is shooting .493 (71-for-144) from the field and .797 (58-for-73) from the free throw line. The West Palm Beach, Fla., native ranks 13th in the MIAA in free throw percentage and sixth in blocked shots (1.2 bpg).
Adams has averaged 9.3 points and 4.5 rebounds per game to date. The Jeffersonville, Ind., native is shooting a team-leading .522 (71-for-136) from the field.
Adams had a key tip-in as time expired that sent the William Jewell game to overtime on Nov. 28. He contributed 12 points and nine rebounds in that contest. He has recorded a pair of double-doubles on the season, most recently with 17 points and 11 rebounds vs. Central Oklahoma.
Freshman guard Jake Bullard returned to the lineup against Washburn on Feb. 2, after missing five games with an injury. Bullard is averaging 5.4 points and 2.1 rebounds per contest. He has scored at least seven points in the team’s last four games.
As a team, Pitt State is averaging 75.1 points per game, while limiting its opponents to 70.5 points. The Gorillas are shooting .439 from the field (546-1243), but they are limiting their opposition to .408 shooting (525-1286).
Pitt State has generated 28 percent of its offense from the free throw line thus far. The Gorillas have converted 456 of 646 free throws (.706), averaging 20.7 points per game from the charity stripe. Pitt State has outscored its opponents by an average of 4.2 points per game from the foul line thus far.
The Gorillas are fifth in the MIAA in scoring (75.1 ppg) and rank 10th in free throw percentage (.706). Pitt State also leads the conference in offensive rebounds (13.5 pg) and ranks third in rebounding margin (+5.7 rpg).
Scouting the Hornets
Emporia State has three players averaging in double figures on the season: junior guard Kaleb Wright, junior center Paul Bunch and senior guard Chris Sights.
Wright averages a team-leading 14.8 points per game, ranking 12th in the MIAA in scoring. He also recorded a team-best 61 assists and 29 steals.
Bunch adds 12.9 points per game while leading the team with a .612 (90-of-147) shooting percentage from the field. His 8.4 rebounds per contest and 43 blocked shots on the season also pace the Hornets. Sights adds 11.1 points per game .
As a team, ESU averages 67.8 points per game while surrendering 65.5 points per game. The Hornets are shooting .452 (556-1229) from the field, including .354 (162-458) from beyond the arc. They are currently shooting .612 (218-356) from the charity stripe.
Scouting the Bronchos
Central Oklahoma has three players averaging in double figures on the season: junior forward Josh Gibbs, senior forward Spencer Smith and senior guard Jamell Cormier.
Gibbs’ 17.5 points pergame is good for fifth in the MIAA. He also leads the team averaging 6.4 rebounds per game and is second on the team with 64 assists on the year. Smith is second on the team in scoring (12.9 ppg) and rebounds (6.1 rpg). Cormier adds 10.0 points per game and he is second on the team with 28 steals.
As a team, UCO averages 76.4 points per game while surrendering 78.3 points per game. The Bronchos are shooting .442 (192-531) from the field, .362 (192-531) from three-point territory and .655 (357-545) from the free-throw line.
Probable Starters
Pitt State (14-7, 7-6 MIAA)
F 20 A.J. Adams, 6-6, 210, Jr., Jeffersonville, Ind.
C 34 Rico Pierrevilus, 6-7, 240, Sr., West Palm Beach, Fla.
G 1 Jake Bullard, 6-5, 190, Fr., Cleora, Okla.
G 3 Kaleb Porter, 5-11, 170, Fr., Tulsa, Okla.
G 15 Marky Nolen, 6-4, 200, Sr., Wichita, Kan.
Emporia State (11-11, 6-8 MIAA)
C 32 Paul Bunch, 6-11, 280, Jr., Conway Springs, Kan.
F 1 Gavin Brown, 6-5, 240, Jr., Junction City, Kan.
G 0 Kaleb Wright, 6-4, 215, Jr., Chicago, Ill.
G 3 Chris Sights, 6-0, 170, Sr., Fort Worth, Texas
G 11 Taylor Euler, 5-11, 170, Sr., Emporia, Kan.
Central Oklahoma (11-11, 9-5 MIAA)
F 2 Josh Gibbs, 6-5, 235, Jr., Kansas City, Mo.
F 21 Cal Andrews, 6-7, 200, Fr., Washington, Okla.
F 33 Spencer Smith, 6-6, 220, Sr., Sapulpa, Okla.
G 4 Christian Huffman, 6-5, 175, Jr., Midwest City, Okla.
G 11 Jamell Cormier, 6-0, 180, Sr., Stillwater, Okla.
