Complete Notes in PDF Format
Game Day Central
[Live Stats-MWSU | Live Stats-WU | Live Audio | Live Web Cast]
PITTSBURG — The Pittsburg State University men’s basketball team will wrap up its second three-game MIAA road swing of the season — and a stretch with six of seven games on the road — when the Gorillas travel to St. Joseph, Mo., Wednesday (Jan. 30) and Topeka Saturday (Feb. 2).
Pitt State will battle Missouri Western Wedensday at 7:30 p.m. (CST) at the MWSU Fieldhouse and Wasburn at 7 p.m. Saturday at Lee Arena.
The Records
Pitt State enters Wednesday’s action with a 12-5 overall record and a 5-4 mark in MIAA action. The Gorillas fell on the road last Wednesday (Jan. 23) at Tahlequah, Okla., to Northeastern State, 64-62. The loss dropped the Gorillas into a four-way tie for fifth place in the MIAA standings (with UCO, FHSU and Lindenwood).
Missouri Western is 8-10 overall, 4-6 in the MIAA and in a tie for 11th place in the conference standings. The Griffons posted a 61-59 road win over Lincoln in their last action Saturday (Jan. 26).
Washburn is 12-4 overall and 5-3 in the MIAA heading into a Thursday (Jan. 31) home contest against Missouri Southern. The Ichabods, who currently sit in fourth place in the MIAA standings, pulled out a 66-63 road win over Lindenwood at St. Charles, Mo., Saturday to snap a two-game losing streak.
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 42-32 (.568) record in his short tenure with the Gorillas. He is 3-1 against the Griffons and 1-4 against Washburn.
Tom Smith is in his 25th year as head coach at Missouri Western. Smith (Valparaiso, ‘67) has compiled a 446-272 (.621) career record leading the Griffons. He is 20-21 vs. Pitt State.
Bob Chipman (Kansas State, ‘73)is in his 34th season leading Washburn. During his tenure with the Ichabods he has led them to a 733-300 (.710) mark. Chipman is 49-17 all-time against the Gorillas.
Series History
Wednesday’s action will mark the 67th all-time meeting between the Gorillas and Missouri Western in a series that dates back to the 1976 season.
Missouri Western holds a 37-29 advantage in the series, including a 22-10 edge in games played at St. Joseph, Mo. The Gorillas have posted three straight wins in the series, sweeping a pair of match-ups last year – 77-71 in Pittsburg on Nov. 30 and 69-67 at St. Joseph on Jan. 21.
Saturday’s matchup with the Ichabods will mark the 174th all-time contest between the two schools. Washburn holds a 93-80 advantage in the series that dates back to 1920. The Ichabods have won the last two meetings and four of the last five battles.
PSU On The Road
The Gorillas have compiled a 10-19 (.345) record in road games during the past two seasons. Pitt State is 2-3 on the road this season.
The Gorillas posted wins in each of their first two road games, but have since dropped their last three contests.
Scouting The Gorillas
Pitt State has three players averaging double figures on the season and three more players contributing more than eight points a game: freshman guard Kaleb Porter, senior forward JaVon McGee, senior guard Courtney Ingram, senior guard Marky Nolen, junior forward A.J. Adams and senior center Rico Pierrevilus.
Porter is averaging a team-leading 13.9 points per game, while McGee (12.4 ppg) and Ingram (11.4 ppg) also are scoring in double figures. Nolen is contributing just under 10 points per game at 9.5 points per contest. Adams adds 8.8 points and Pierrevilus chips in with 8.5 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 19th in the MIAA in scoring, second in the conference in free throw percentage (.882, 67-for-76) and 10th in the league in 3-point field goals (2.1 pg).
McGee contributes 12.4 points and a team-leading 7.4 rebounds per game. The Kansas City, Mo., native has averaged 16.1 points and 7.3 rebounds per game in Pitt State’s last nine outings. In PSU’s last game against Northeastern State he recorded 14 points and a team-high 11 rebounds.
McGee, who ranks sixth in the MIAA in rebounding, 25th in the league in scoring and 15th in the conference in field goal percentage (.500, 80-for-160), became the 22nd player in school history to eclipse 1,000 career points on Jan. 19 in the Gorillas 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 fourth on that PSU career list.
Ingram has scored in double figures in 11 of the last 14 games 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.
For the season, Ingram is shooting .460 (63-for-137) from the field and .688 (55-for-80) from the free throw line.
Nolen averages 9.5 points, 4.9 rebounds and a team-leading 2.0 steals per game. The Wichita, Kan., native ranks fourth in the MIAA in steals.
Adams has averaged 8.8 points and 5.1 rebounds per game to date. The Jeffersonville, Ind., native is shooting a team-leading .531 (52-for-98) from the field, ranking 11th in the league in field goal percentage.
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.
Pierrevilus is averaging 8.5 points and 5.4 rebounds per game on the season. He posted a double-double with 21 points and 12 rebounds in a road loss against Missouri Southern on Jan. 16.
For the season, Pierrevilus is shooting .446 (45-for-101) from the field and .842 (48-for-57) from the free throw line. The West Palm Beach, Fla., native ranks ninth in the MIAA in free throw percentage.
As a team, Pitt State is averaging 76.5 points per game, while limiting its opponents to 71.4 points. The Gorillas are shooting .435 from the field (427-982), but they are limiting their opposition to .416 shooting (423-1016).
Pitt State has generated 28 percent of its offense from the free throw line thus far. The Gorillas have converted 367 of 511 free throws (.718), averaging 21.6 points per game from the charity stripe. Pitt State has outscored its opponents by an average of 6.2 points per game from the foul line thus far.
The Gorillas are third in the MIAA in scoring (76.5 ppg) and rank sixth in free throw percentage (.718). Pitt State also leads the conference in offensive rebounds (14.5 pg) and ranks second in rebounding margin (+6.7 rpg).
Scouting The Griffons
Missouri Western has two players averaging in double figures – junior forward Cedric Clinkscales (13.6 ppg) and junior guard Adarius Fulton (10.5 ppg) – and two more players scoring more than seven points – junior forward Dzenan Mrkaljevic (8.1 ppg) and junior forward Alfreeman Flowers (7.8 ppg).
Clinkscales also leads the team in rebounding (6.2 rpg) and shoots a team-leading 58.9 percent from the field (103-for-175). Fulton paces the team in assists (3.8 apg) and steals (2.4 spg).
As a team, the Griffons average 67.1 points per game while their opposition averages 66.4 points per game. Western shoots just 43.9 percent from the field (446-for-1016) but limits its opponents to 43.1 percent shooting (403-for-934).
Scouting The Ichabods
Washburn has two players scoring in double figures – senior guards Will McNeill (18.9 ppg) and Martin Mitchell (14.5 ppg) – and two more players scoring more than seven points a game – senior forward Bobby Chipman (9.5 ppg) and sophomore guard Kyle Wiggins (7.4 ppg).
Chipman also averages a team-leading 7.5 rebounds per game, while Martin leads the squad in assists (3.7 apg). McNeill contributes 6.2 assists, 3.2 assists and a team-leading 2.9 steals per game to go along with his scoring average.
As a team, the Ichabods score 74.8 points per game but limit their opposition to just 63.1 points per game. The Ichabods shoot 45.2 percent from the field (429-for-950) while holding their opponents to 40.8 percent shooting (342-for-838).
Probable Starters
Pitt State (12-5, 5-4 MIAA)
F 4 Denton Hays, 6-7, 208, Fr., Tulsa, Okla.
F 44 JaVon McGee, 6-6, 235, Sr., Grandview, Mo.
G 15 Marky Nolen, 6-4, 200, Sr., Wichita, Kan.
G 22 Sam Pugh, 6-0, 180, So., Branson, Mo.
G 23 Courtney Ingram, 6-3, 205, Sr., Tulsa, Okla.
Missouri Western (8-10, 4-6 MIAA)
F 24 Cedric Clinkscales, 6-7, 230, Jr., Anderson, S.C.
F 33 Dzenan Mrkaljevic, 6-8, 215, Jr., Fishers, Ind.
G 11 Dylan Frantz, 6-1, 190, Sr., Phillipsburg, Kan.
G 12 Adarius Fulton, 6-2, 175, Jr., Lithonia, Ga.
G 25 Alex Tuluka-Mfumupembe, 6-4, 185, Sr., Mons, Belgium
Washburn (12-4, 5-3 MIAA)
F 20 Bobby Chipman, 6-8, 220, Sr., Topeka, Kan.
F 24 Zack Riggins, 6-6, 225, Sr., Leavenworth, Kan.
G 10 Will McNeill, 6-1, 195, Sr., Alexandria, La.
G 11 Kyle Wiggins, 6-2, 170, So., Leavenworth, Kan.
G 12 Martin Mitchell, 6-0, 190, Sr., Memphis, Tenn.
