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Game Day Central
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PITTSBURG — The Pittsburg State University men's basketball team will return home for its final two regular season games this week with match-ups against MIAA rivals Emporia State University Wednesday (Feb. 26) and Washburn University Saturday (March 1) at John Lance Arena.

Wednesday's tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. (CST), while Saturday's action will begin at 3:30 p.m.

The Records
Pitt State enters the final week 7-17 overall and 3-14 in MIAA action.  The Gorillas, who are battling through a seven-game losing streak, dropped road decisions to Northeastern State and Missouri Southern last week.

NSU hit a 3-point jumper at the buzzer to top the Gorillas, 61-60, last Wednesday (Feb. 19) at Tahlequah, Okla., while MSSU claimed a 110-90 win over the Gorillas at Joplin, Mo., Saturday (Feb. 22).

The Gorillas currently sit in 13th place in the MIAA standings, needing to sweep the Hornets and Ichabods and get losses by Missouri Western to Central Missouri and Southwest Baptist to earn a berth in the MIAA Tournament.

Emporia State is 17-11 overall and 10-8 in MIAA play. The Hornets are currently sixth in the conference standings. Last week, ESU defeated Nebraska-Kearney (92-83) on Feb. 19 and Washburn (88-76) Saturday (Feb. 22).  Wednesday's match-up with the Gorillas will be ESU's final regular season action.

Washburn is 16-9 overall, 9-9 in MIAA play and ranked seventh in the conference standings. The Ichabods have lost six of their last eight contests, including an 88-76 decision to ESU Saturday (Feb. 22).  WU is idle until Saturday's match-up with Pitt State.

The Coaches
Pittsburg State's Kevin Muff is in his fourth 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.

He has a 55-54 (.505) record with the Gorillas.  This will be his eighth meeting against the Hornets. He is 4-3 against ESU. This will also be Muff's  eighth meeting against Washburn. He is 1-6 vs. the Ichabods.

Shaun Vandiver is in his third year as head coach at Emporia State. Vandiver (Colorado, '02) has notched a 39-43(.476) mark at ESU. He is 2-3 vs. Pitt State.

Bob Chipman is in his 34th year as head coach of  Washburn. Chipman, (Kansas State, '73) has compiled a 737-305 (.701) record while leading the Ichabods. He is 51-17 all-time vs. the Gorillas.

Series History
Pitt State and Emporia State will meet for the 185th time Wednesday. ESU holds a slight 94-91 advantage in the series. The Hornets defeated the Gorillas the last time the two teams met on Jan. 15, 83-75, t Emporia.

Saturday's action will mark the 176th all-time meeting between the Gorillas and the Ichabods. Washburn holds a 95-80 advantage in the series that dates back to 1920, and the Ichabods have won six of the last seven meetings.

WU defeated Pitt State, 83-80, at Topeka the last time the two teams squared off on Jan. 18.

Scouting the Gorillas
Pitt State enters this week's action with three players averaging in double figures on the season: junior guard Devon Branch (20.1 ppg), sophomore guard Jake Bullard (14.5 ppg) and senior guard Sam Pugh (10.9 ppg).

Branch urrently ranks third in the MIAA in scoring. He scored 20 points in the Gorillas season opener against Newman on Nov. 13 before exiting the game with a knee injury. He missed three games, before returning to the Pitt State lineup Nov. 22. The Aberdeen, Md., native tallied a season-high 32 points against Southwest Baptist on Feb. 4.

In the Gorillas latest action against MSSU on Saturday (Feb. 22) Branch notched a game-high 29 points and eight assists.

On the season, he is shooting 48.8 (143-for-293) from the field while also leading  the team lead with 5.1 rebounds per contest.

Branch transferred to Pitt State last January from the University of Oregon. He did not play for the Ducks, but he averaged 22 points per game as a sophomore at Cloud County Community College in 2011, leading the Jayhawk Conference in scoring.

Branch posted 30 points and 16 rebounds in the Gorillas' exhibition loss to Kansas State on Nov. 1. He also scored a game-high 27 points on Oct. 29 in an exhibition loss to the University of Kansas.

Bullard (6-5, 180) ranks among the MIAA leaders in scoring (19th) and assists (seventh, 4.1 apg) on the season.

The Cleora, Okla., native posted a double-double with 15 points and a career high 10 assists against Eastern New Mexico (Nov. 29). He just missed posting a triple double against West Texas A&M on Dec. 18 with 20 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists against the Buffs.

Bullard is shooting 46.5 percent from the floor (105-for-226), including 39.2 percent from 3-point range (29-for-74). He is also second on the team with 4.6 rebounds and leads the team with 4.1 assists per game as well.

Pugh (6-0, 180) is averaging 10.9 points, 2.7 rebounds, 3.1 assists and a team-leading 1.3 steals per game. He leads the team with a 3-point percentage of 53.4 (39-for-73). After missing the last seven games due to injury (concussion), he is expected to return to the court against the Hornets Wednesday.

The Branson, Mo., native tallied 22 points against Eastern New Mexico and 12 points with a career-best 10 dimes against Bethany, recording his first career double-double.

Freshman guard Josiah Gustafson is averaging just below double digits at 8.4 points per game. The Omaha, Neb., native tallied a team-high 16 points and five rebounds against NW Missouri State on Dec. 5. He tallied 13 points and three rebounds against Emporia State on Jan. 15.

Junior forward Connor Kjer (6.7 ppg), senior guard Ethan Cordray (6.2 ppg), junior forward Alex Williams (5.4 ppg) and freshman forward Trevor Gregory (5.0 ppg) all chip in more than five points a game. Kjer narrowly missed a double-double with a 14-point, nine-rebound effort against SBU on Feb. 4. He scored over 12 points against both UNK and FHSU (Feb. 13-15). Cordray has converted 43 of 115 3-point field goals (.374). Williams tallied 15 points and eight rebounds against UNK on Feb. 13.

As a team, the Gorillas are shooting 46.4 percent from the field (627-1350)and 36.9 percent from 3-point range (173-469). Pitt State also is shooting 72.9 percent from the free throw line (441-605).

The Gorillas' opponents have converted 45.0 percent of their shots from the floor (628-1395), including 35.9 percent (204-569) from beyond the arc. PSU's opponents are shooting 71.1 percent from the charity stripe (494-695).

Scouting the Hornets
Emporia State has three players averaging in double figures: senior guard Kaleb Wright (19.1 ppg), sophomore guard Terrence Moore (16.3 ppg) and senior center Paul Bunch (10.4 ppg).

Wright currently ranks fourth in the MIAA in scoring and also averages 5.4 rpg and a team-leading 80 assists on the season. Moore ranks 11th in the conference in scoring and first with 2.4 spg. Bunch leads the league in blocked shots(2.8 bpg), third in field goal percentage (63.9 percent) and tenth in rebounding (6.5 rpg).

As a team, ESU averages 79.0 points and shoot 47.7 percent from the field (771-1618), 34.0  percent from the 3-point line (179-526) and 71.3 percent from the free throw line (492-690). The Hornets generate 17.6 points per game from the free throw line.

ESU's opponents are averaging 73.5 points and shooting 42.3 percent from the field (686-1621). The Hornets rank first in field goal percentage defense.

Scouting the Ichabods
Washburn has four players averaging in double figures: junior forward Alex North (15.6 ppg),  junior guard Kyle Wiggins (14.1 ppg), senior guard Leon Flowers (10.4 ppg) and junior guard Jeff Reid (10.0 ppg).

North currently ranks 13th in scoring, second in rebounding (9.8 rpg) and 12th in assists (3.3 apg) in the MIAA. Wiggins leads the team and ranks eighth in the conference in assists (4.0 apg). Flowers has converted 33-of-74 (.446) from three-point territory and Reid leads the team with shooting 53.0 percent (89-168) from the field.

As a team, the Ichabods average 79.7 points and shoot 46.7 percent from the field (696-1489), 37.6 percent from the 3-point line (184-489) and 67.9 percent from the free throw line (417-614).

Washburn's opponents are averaging 75.6 points and shooting 43.7 percent from the field (637-1436). The Ichabods' opponents have made 71.9 percent of their free throw attempts (450-626).

Pitt State Probable Starters
    F    24    Terrell Eaddy, 6-5, 205, Sr., Bronx, N.Y.
    F    32    Trevor Gregory, 6-7, 235, Fr., Lee's Summit, Mo.
    G    1    Jake Bullard, 6-5, 190, So., Cleora, Okla.
    G    4    Josiah Gustafson, 6-6, 190, Fr., Omaha, Neb.
    G    5    Devon Branch, 6-6, 180, Jr., Aberdeen, Md.

Emporia State Probable Starters
    F    1    Gavin Brown, 6-5, 215, Sr., Junction City, Kan.
    C    32    Paul Bunch, 6-11, 250, Sr., Chicago, Ill.
    G    0    Kaleb Wright, 6-4, 200, Sr., Chicago, Ill.
    G    11    Terrence Moore, 6-2, 170, So., Wichita, Kan.
    G    13    Micah Swank, 6-1, 170, So., Pratt, Kan.

Washburn Probable Starters
    F    22    Alex North, 6-6, 215, Jr., Topeka, Kan.
    F    31    Leon Flowers, 6-3, 190, So., Carbondale, Kan.
    G    3    Jeff Reid, 6-6, 205, Jr., Topeka, Kan.
    G    5    Korey Fisher, 6-2, 195, Jr., East Orange, N.J.
    G    11    Kyle Wiggins, 6-2, 170, Jr., Leavenworth, Kan.