Complete Notes in PDF Format
Game Day Central
[Live Stats | Live Audio | Live Web Cast]
PITTSBURG — The Pittsburg State University men’s basketball team will travel to Las Vegas, Nev., to compete in the Las Vegas Classic Tuesday and Wednesday (Dec. 18-19). The two-day, classic-format tournament played at Orleans Arena is hosted by Dixie State University.
The Gorillas will face Heartland Conference memeber Arkansas-Fort Smith Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. (CST). Pitt State will wrap up play by taking on the host school, Dixie State, at 7:30 p.m. (CST) Wednesday.
The Records
Pitt State enters the tournament with a 7-1 overall record. The Gorillas have won their last four games, including a 85-79 double overtime victory over Lindenwood the last time they took the court on Dec. 8 at St. Charles, Mo.
Akansas-Fort Smith is 5-3 on the young season. The Lions have won five of their last six games after starting the season 0-2. UFS posted a 77-74 victory over Southwestern Oklahoma State in its last action.
Dixie State is 6-3 on the season heading into a Tuesday match-up against MIAA foe Central Missouri in the Las Vegas Challenge. The Red Storm posted a 68-58 home win over Point Loma Nazarene in their last contest on Dec. 15.
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 37-28 (.569) record in his short tenure with the Gorillas. He has yet to face Arkansas-Fort Smith or Dixie State.
Josh Newman (Arizona State, ‘98) is in his seventh season coaching the Lions. Newman has guided UAFS to a 120-70 (.632) record. This will be his first career meeting with the Gorillas.
Jon Judkins (Utah State, ‘88) is in his eighth year leading the Red Storm’s program. Judkins holds an 129-78 (.623) record at Dixie State. This will be his first meeting with Pitt State.
Series History
Pitt State will meet both Arkansas-Fort Smith and Dixie State for the first time in series history.
Scouting the Gorillas
Early in the season, Pitt State has three players scoring in double figures and five players contributing eight or more points: freshman guard Kaleb Porter, senior guard Courtney Ingram, junior forward A.J. Adams, senior center Rico Pierrevilus and senior forward JaVon McGee.
Porter is averaging a team-leading 17.8 points per game, while Ingram (12.8 ppg) and Adams (11.5 ppg) also are scoring in double figures. Pierrevilus and McGee are both adding 8.4 ppg, respectively.
Porter, a true freshman, is off to a fast start to his collegiate career after being named the MIAA Player of the Week on Nov. 19.
The 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. He had 16 points in the season opener vs. Baker on Nov. 13 and he finished the week with a 14-point effort in a win over Avila on Nov. 17.
Through eight games, Porter is shooting .500 (39 of 78) from the field, .528 (19-36) from 3-point range and .865 (45-52) from the foul line as well as averaging 2.1 assists per game. He ranks fourth in the MIAA in scoring, ranks third in the conference in 3-point field goal percentage and seventh in the league in free throw percentage.
Ingram is coming off five straight double-digit scoring performances. The Tulsa, Okla., native tallied 16 points and five rebounds last Thursday against Central Oklahoma and continued his streak into the Saturday (Dec. 8) matchup against Lindenwood, recording a team-high 17 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the field.
For the season, Ingram is shooting .527 (29-55) from the field and .787 (37-47) from the charity stripe.
Adams, who came to Pitt State from Eastern Arizona College, has made an immediate impact for the Gorillas, averaging 11.5 points and 6.6 rebounds per game. The Jeffersonville, Ind., is shooting .571 (36-63) from the field thus far.
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 recorded his second double-double of the season last week against Central Oklahoma. Adams recorded 17 points and 11 rebounds in the winning effort over the Bronchos.
Pierrevilus, who is averaging 8.4 points and 3.5 rebounds per game on the young season, had an impressive season debut against Baker on Nov. 13. The West Palm Beach, Fla., native scored a game-high 20 points against the Wildcats. He made his first seven shots from the field, including a pair of 3-pointers.
Against Lindenwood last Saturday, the senior, recorded 13 points while providing quality minutes off the bench for Pitt State.
For the season, Pierrevilus is shooting .489 (22-45) from the field and .800 (20-25) from the free throw line.
McGee has also contributed 8.4 points and a team-leading 7.5 rebounds per game in mostly a reserve role for the Gorillas. The Grandview, Mo., native was slowed in the preseason by an off-season injury, but he has seen 22.6 minutes of court action in Pitt State’s first eight games.
He registered his second double-double of the 2013 season against the Southwestern College. McGee recorded a season-high 15 rebounds to go along with 11 points against the Moundbuilders. In the Gorillas last game against Lindenwood the senior narrowly missed his third double-double as he poured in 10 points and added nine rebounds.
McGee ranks fifth in the MIAA in rebounding.
Senior guard Marky Nolen and sophomore guard Sam Pugh are also key contributors for the Gorillas. Nolen is averaging 7.7 points and 4.7 rebounds per contest. He has also registered 14 steals in six games played. Pugh is averaging 6.4 points per game in eight games. He also is second on the team with 11 steals.
As a team, Pitt State is averaging 81.4 points per game, while limiting its opponents to 73.4 points. The Gorillas are shooting .436 from the field (201-461), but they are limiting their opposition to .413 shooting (199-482).
Pitt State has generated 32 percent of its offense from the free throw line thus far. The Gorillas have converted 209 of 289 free throws (.723), averaging 26.1 points per game from the charity stripe. Pitt State has outscored its opponents by an average of 9.5 points from the foul line thus far.
Pitt State has committed 149 turnovers thus far (18.6 pg), but the Gorillas also have forced their opponents into 139 turnovers (17.4 pg).
Scouting the Lions
Arkansas-Fort Smith has started the season 5-3 after splitting a pair of games in the tournament they hosted on December 7-8. The Lions fell to Southern Nazarene 79-82 before rebounding to beat Southwestern Oklahoma 77-74 the next day. The Lions defeated MIAA member, Missouri Southern in an early season matchup on Nov. 20 by a score of 76-57 in Fort Smith.
The Lions have showed a well-balanced offensive attack eight games into their 2013 campaign as five players are currently averaging double figures. Junior guard Corey Copeland paces the team averaging 13.1 points per game. Jelani Poston adds 12.6 points to go along with his team-high 7.2 rebounds per contest. He is shooting a team-high .674 (29-43) clip from the floor as well.
Senior forward Djordje Stojanovic adds 11.7 points and 4.3 rebounds per game in a reserve role for the Lions. Jake Toupal and Dijon Farr round out the scoring leaders for UAFS. Toupal, a junior guard, is averaging 11.0 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. Farr, a senior guard, chips in with 10.3 points.
The Lions average 77.2 points per game and shoot .445 (224-503) from the field including .333 (47-141) from 3-point range. UAFS shoots .631 (123-195) from the free throw line.
Scouting the Red Storm
Dixie State has four player scoring in double figures, led by junior forward Dalton Groskreutz. Groskreutz averages a team-leading 14.0 points as well as 5.0 rebounds per game. He has shot .522 (48-92) from the field thus far.
Sophomore forward Zach Robbins averages a double-double, tallying 12.9 points and 10.1 rebounds per game. He recorded a season-high 26 points and pulled down 18 rebounds in Dixie State’s game on Dec. 8. Robbins is shooting a team best .639 from the field (53-83).
Senior guard McKay Massey adds 12.7 points to go along with his team-high 4.6 assists per game. Massey shoots .450 (18-40) from 3-point range. Junior guard Steven Larson adds 11.9 points per game while shooting .539 (41-76) from the floor.
As a team, Dixie State is averaging 77.6 points per game and shooting 52.1 percent from the field (256-of-491). The Red Storm are shooting .418 percent from 3-point range (41-of-98) and 71.4 percent from the free throw line (145-for-203).
Probable Starters
Pitt State (7-1)
F 20 A.J. Adams, 6-6, 210, Jr., Jeffersonville, Ind.
F 44 JaVon McGee, 6-6, 235, Sr., Grandview, Mo.
G 3 Kaleb Porter, 5-11, 170, Fr., Tulsa, Okla.
G 22 Sam Pugh, 6-0, 180, So., Branson, Mo.
G 23 Courtney Ingram, 6-3, 205, Sr., Tulsa, Okla.
Arkansas-Fort Smith (5-3)
F 3 Dijon Farr, 6-7, 211, Sr., Pacolet, S.C.
F 34 Bo Franklin, 6-6, 250, Jr., Morganza, La.
G/F 22 Dusan Stojanovic, 6-7, 199, So., Lazarevac, Serbia
G 12 Corey Copeland, 6-4, 192, Jr., Fort Smith, Ark.
G 23 Jalynn Mitchell, 6-0, 171, Sr., Jonesboro, Ark.
Dixie State (6-3)
F 32 Dalton Groskreutz, 6-5, 195, Jr., Santa Clara, Utah
F 42 Zach Robbins, 6-10, 200, So., Upland, Calif.
C 44 Steven Larson, 6-8, 240, Jr., South Jordan, Utah
G 10 Kimball Payne, 6-0, 170, Jr., Alphine, Utah
G 20 McKay Massey, 6-2, 185, Sr., Payson, Utah
