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PITTSBURG — The Pittsburg State University men’s basketball team will travel to Joplin, Mo., this weekend to compete in the Chris Tucker Memorial Classic hosted by Missouri Southern State University.

The Gorillas will face MIAA rival Lincoln University Friday (Nov. 16) at 12 Noon at MSSU’s Leggett & Platt Athletic Center. Pitt State will close out the two-day, classic-format tournament Saturday (Nov. 17) with a tilt against Avila University at 5 p.m.

The Records
Pitt State bring a 1-0 record into the weekend action.  The Gorillas opened the season with an 88-67 victory over Baker University Tuesday (Nov. 13).

Pitt State is coming off a 17-14 campaign during the 2011-12 season.  The Gorillas reached the finals of the MIAA Postseason Tournament a year ago, narrowly missing an automatic qualifying bid to the NCAA Division II National Tournament in a 67-63 loss to Washburn University in the tournament finals at Kansas City’s Municipal Audotorium.

The Gorillas return four players who started 12 or more games a year ago and five players with starting experience.

Lincoln is 1-2 on the season after posting an 86-72 victory over McKendree (Ill.) Wednesday (Nov. 14). The Blue Tigers, who posted a 4-22 record a year ago, droped a 72-67 decision to Minnesota State University and a 77-61 decision to Wayne (Neb.) State College to open the season at the SBU Classic.

Avila brings a 2-1 record into a Friday match-up against Missouri Southern. The Eagles, who posted an 18-12 record last year, defeated William Woods, 82-71, in their most recent action Tuesday (Nov. 13).

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.

He has a 31-27 (.534) record in his short tenure with the Gorillas. Muff has a perfect 4-0 record against Lincoln and he will meet Avila for the first time Saturday.

John Redmond (Wayne State, ‘78) enters his fourth year as head coach at Lincoln.   He has a 13-69 record in his tenure leading the Blue Tigers.  He is 0-4 vs. Pitt State.

Rodney Perry (Missouri State, ‘92) begins his third year leading the Avila program. Under his direction the Eagles have recorded a 32-31 record. Saturday’s action will mark his first encounter with Pitt State.

Series History
This will be the 30th all-time meeting between the Gorillas and Blue Tigers,  with Pitt State holding a 26-3 advantage in the series.
The Gorillas posted an 72-61 victory the last time the two squads met on Feb. 11, 2012.

PSU holds a 4-1 advantage in the series against Avila. Pittsburg State recorded a 65-47 win the last time the two schools faced eachother on Dec. 4, 2006.

Scouting the Gorillas
Pitt State returns five players with starting experience from the 2011-12 campaign:  senior forward JaVon McGee, senior guards Marky Nolen and Courtney Ingram, senior center Rico Pierrevilus and sophomore guard Sam Pugh.

McGee, who has been slowed in the preseason by an off-season injury, started 26 of 31 games a year ago, earning honorable mention All-MIAA honors.  The Grandview, Mo., native led the team in scoring, averaging 13.0 points per game.  He also contributed 6.7 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game.

Nolen, a Wichita native, started 14 of 30 games played in his first season for the Gorillas.  Nolen contributed 8.2 points and 4.0 rebounds per game

Ingram started 17 of 30 games played last year, averaging 7.5 points and 2.4 rebounds per game.  The Tulsa, Okla., native made 28 of 89 (.315) 3-point field goal attempts on the season.

Pierrevilus joined the Gorillas at the semester break last year. He started four of 21 games played, scoring 7.0 points and grabbing 3.8 rebounds per game.  The West Palm Beach, Fla., native also blocked 28 shots (1.3 bpg) and contered 51 percent of his shots from the field (51 of 100). He recorded a career high 20 points in the season opener against Baker on Tuesday (Nov. 13).

Pugh started 12 games at point guard as a freshman in 2011-12.  The Branson, Mo., native contributed 3.7 points and 1.7 assists per game on the year.

As a team, Pitt State shot 43.7 percent from the field in 2011-12 while its opponents coverted 46.1 percnet of their shots.  The Gorillas averaged 72.3 points per game and Pitt State was  +6.4 in the rebounding department.  The Gorillas averaged 13.9 offensive rebounds per game and recorded 9.0 steals per game, forcing the opposition into 16.7 turnovers per outing.
Pitt State’s 2012-13 recruiting class includes four transfers and four incoming freshmen.  All eight players are expected to see court action for the Gorillas.

Junior forward A.J. Adams transferred to Pitt State from Eastern Arizona College. The Jeffersonville, Ind., native twice earned second-team All-Conference honors. He averaged 12 points and 6.8 rebounds per game as a sophomore after averaging 17 points and 7.8 rebounds per game as a freshman.

Junior guard Ethan Cordray joined the Gorillas from Coffeyville Community College, where he averaged five points per game and ranked third in the Jayhawk Conference in 3-point field goal percentage as a sophomore in 2010-11.

Junior guard/forward Terrell Eaddy comes to Pitt State from Monroe (N.Y.) College. Eaddy averaged 5.0 points and 2.4 rebounds per game while helping the Mustangs to a 33-4 record last year.

Junior forward Alex Williams joined the Gorillas after two seasons at Cloud County Community College.

Pitt State’s freshman class includes guards Ray Blanco, Jake Bullard and Kaleb Porter and forward Denton Hays.

Blanco averaged 24 points, six rebounds and five assists per game at Bloomfield Tech (N.J.) High School, leading the Super Essex Conference in 3-point field goals.

Bullard was a three-time Oklahoma Class 4A All-State selection at Vinita High School, averaging 18.6 points as a senior.
Porter was named the Tulsa Metro Player of the Year last season, averaging 21 points, three rebounds and 3.5 assists per game for East Central High School.

Hays averaged 9.5 points, 8.5 rebounds and 1.5 blocked shots per game as a senior at Jenks High School as a senior in 2011-12.

Home Opener
In the home opener against Baker, senior forward Rico Pierrevilus paced the Gorillas with a game-high 20 points in 25 minutes of action.

Freshman guard Kaleb Porter and junior forward A.J. Adams also chipped in with 16 points apiece. Adams also recorded a game-high 10 rebounds to notch a double-double in his first game for Pittsburg State.

Scouting the Blue Tigers
Lincoln finished last season with a 4-22 record and 4-16 in MIAA play. Three games into the 2013 season the Blue Tigers are 1-2.

The Blue Tigers return one starter from last season’s squad. Senior guard Cedric Ridle averaged 11.6 points and 4.5 rebounds to go along with 43 assists and steals in 2012. So far this season Ridle is averaging 13.3 points and a team-high 8.0 rebounds with seven assists and four steals.

Lincoln is receiving major contributions from several new players. Junior forward Charles Cole (6-7, 190) has made a quick impact after transferring from Antelope Valley Community College. Cole is averaging a team-high 14.7 ppg while shooting .485 (16 of 33) from the field, including .500 (5 of 10) from beyond the arc. Junior center Sean Harris (6-9, 270) joined the program from Mississippi Delta Community College. He is averaging 12.0 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. Harris is shooting .762 (16 of 21) from the field. Senior forward Darius Whitson (6-2, 185), from Motlow State Community College, rounds out the top scorers contributing 11.7 points per game.

Scouting the Eagles
Avila finished last season with an 18-12 record.

The Eagles return two starters from last year’s team. Senior Forward Zach Smith led the team in scoring last season, averaging 13.4 points per game. He also was second on the team in rebounding (5.3 rpg).

Sophomore guard Curtis Churchman averaged 8.6 points and a team-high 2.5 assists per game in 2012. So far this season Churchman is averaging 8.7 points, 2.0 assists and 2.7 steals per contest.

Justin Henderson, Sedrick Johnson and Lance Miller are all averaging double-digit scoring this season. Henderson, a junior guard, leads the team with a 13.0 ppg average. Johnson, a freshman guard, averages 12.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg and 3.0 spg. Miller, a senior guard, averages 10.3 ppg while shooting .400 (10 of 25) from the field.

Pitt State Probable Starters
    F    20    A.J. Adams, 6-6, 210, Jr., Jeffersonville, Ind.
    C    34    Rico Pierrevilus, 6-7, 240, Sr., West Palm Beach, Fla.
    G    3    Kaleb Porter, 5-11, 170, Fr., Tulsa, Okla.
    G    15    Marky Nolen, 6-4, 200, Sr., Wichita, Kan.
    G    22    Sam Pugh, 6-0, 180, So., Branson, Mo.