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Game Day Central
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PITTSBURG — The Pittsburg State University men’s basketball team will open a three-game road swing Thursday (Jan. 10) when the Gorillas head to Jefferson City, Mo., to face Lincoln University. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. (CST) at LU’s Jason Gym.
Pitt State also will play six of its next seven contests away from the friendly confines of John Lance Arena. The Gorillas will travel to Warrensburg, Mo., to face the University of Central Missouri Saturday (Jan. 12) with a 3:30 p.m. (CST) scheduled tip time at the UCM Multipurpose Building.
The Records
Pitt State enters Thursday’s action with a 10-2 record and 3-1 mark in MIAA action. The Gorillas had won seven straight contests before falling to Northwest Missouri State, 62-51, Saturday (Jan. 5) in the CBS Sports Network NCAA Division II national game of the week..
Lincoln is 2-12 overall, including a 1-3 record in conference play heading into the match-up with Pitt State. The Blue Tigers have dropped five straight contests since beating Nebraska-Kearney on Dec. 5. In their most recent, action LU fell to Southwest Baptist, 81-74.
Central Missouri currently stands at 8-3 overall with a 2-1 record in MIAA play heading into a Wednesday (Jan. 9) match-up against Northeastern State. The Mules have won their last two contests over Arkansas-Fort Smith (76-75) and Southwest Baptist (74-64).
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 40-29 (.580) record in his short tenure with the Gorillas. He is 4-0 against LU and 2-3 against the Mules.
John Redmond (Wayne State, ‘76) is in his fourth season coaching the Blue Tigers. Redmond has guided LU to a 14-79 (.151) record. He is 0-4 vs. Pitt State.
Kim Anderson (Missouri, ‘79) is in his 11th year leading the Central Missouri program. Anderson holds an 230-85 (.730) record with the Mules. He is 17-6 all-time against the Gorillas.
Series History
Thursday’s action will mark the 30th all-time meeting between the Gorillas and Blue Tigers in a series that dates back to the 1964 season. Pitt State holds a decisive 26-3 advantage in the series, including an 8-1 mark at Jefferson City. PSU has not lost to LU since Nov. 25, 1983.
The match-up with Central Missouri Saturday will mark the 109th time the schools meet. UCM holds a 62-44 lead in the series that dates back to the 1917 season. The Gorillas defeated the Mules the last time the two teams met in the opening round of the MIAA Tournament, 78-64, in Kansas City, Mo., last year.
Scouting The Gorillas
Pitt State has three players averaging double figures on the season and two more players contributing more than seven points a game: freshman guard Kaleb Porter, senior guard Courtney Ingram, senior forward JaVon McGee, junior forward A.J. Adams and senior guard Marky Nolen.
Porter is averaging a team-leading 15.8 points per game, while Ingram (11.8 ppg) and McGee (11.0 ppg) are scoring in double figures. Adams is contributing just under ten points per game at 9.8 points per contest. Nolen adds 8.7 points as well.
Porter, a true freshman, is off to a fast start to his collegiate career.
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 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.
Through 12 games, Porter is shooting .431 (53-123) from the field, .419 (26-62) from 3-point range and .892 (58-65) from the foul line as well as averaging 2.4 assists per game. He ranks eighth in the MIAA in scoring and second in free throw percentage. He also ranks sixth in the league in 3-point field goals (2.2 pg).
Ingram has scored in double figures in eight of the last nine games for the Gorillas. The Tulsa, Okla., native scored 14 points in Pitt State’s last outing, a 51-62 home loss to Northwest Missouri on Saturday (Jan. 5)
For the season, Ingram is shooting .494 (44-89) from the field and .768 (43-56) from the free throw line.
McGee contributes 11.0 points and a team-leading 7.8 rebounds per game. The Kansas City, Mo., native has averaged 16.3 points and 8.3 rebounds per game in Pitt State’s last four outings.
McGee, who has posted three double-doubles on the season, scored 11 points and pulled down eight rebounds in the Gorillas last outing against NWMSU. He turned in a season-best 25-point effort in the Gorillas’ 84-76 win over Arkansas-Fort Smith in the Las Vegas Challenge on Dec. 18.
For the season, McGee is shooting .453 from the field (48-106). He also is averaging a team-leading 2.9 offensive rebounds per game which ranks him second in the MIAA. McGee is currently fourth in the MIAA in rebounding.
Adams, who came to Pitt State from Eastern Arizona College, has averaged 9.8 points and 5.9 rebounds per game to date. The Jeffersonville, Ind., native is shooting a team-leading .549 (45-82) 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.
Nolen averages 8.7 points, 4.4 rebounds and a team-leading 3.0 steals per game. The Wichita, Kan., native ranks second in the MIAA in steals.
Senior center Rico Pierrevilus, who is averaging 6.9 points and 4.3 rebounds per game on the 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.
For the season, Pierrevilus is shooting .424 (28-66) from the field and .778 (21-27) from the free throw line.
As a team, Pitt State is averaging 77.4 points per game, while limiting its opponents to 70.8 points. The Gorillas are shooting .436 from the field (298-684), but they are limiting their opposition to .420 shooting (298-710).
Pitt State has generated 29 percent of its offense from the free throw line thus far. The Gorillas have converted 274 of 376 free throws (.729), averaging 22.8 points per game from the charity stripe. Pitt State has outscored its opponents by an average of 7.5 points from the foul line thus far.
The Gorillas are fourth in the MIAA in scoring (77.4 ppg) and rank third in free throw percentage (.729). Pitt State also leads the conference in offensive rebounds (14.3 pg) and are currently second in rebounding margin (+7.7 rpg).
Scouting the Blue Tigers
The Blue Tigers currently have two players averaging more than 13 points per game. Senior guard Cedric Ridle leads the team averaging 18.4 points per game, while also pulling down 6.2 rebounds per contest. His 18.4 ppg ranks second in the MIAA in scoring. Ridle is shooting .477 (94-of-197) from the field. He also leads LU with 21 steals. Junior forward Charles Cole contributes 13.9 points and a team-high 6.3 rebounds per game. The 6-7 forward also leads the team from behind the arc shooting .400 (28-70) this season.
Junior center Sean Harris is a key big man for the Blue Tigers. The San Antonio, Texas, native averages 8.6 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.5 block shots on the season. He is currently shooting a team-high .506 (42-83) from the field. Junior guard Shakir Preston is the team leader in assists (4.1 apg) to go along with his 7.4 point scoring average.
LU averages 69.1 points per game while allowing their opponents to score 76.6 ppg. As a team Lincoln is shooting .441 (364-826) from the field including .321 (95-296) from 3-point range. The Blue Tigers shoot .674 (145-215) from the free throw line.
Scouting the Mules
Central Missouri has four players scoring in double figures, led by senior forward Dominique Long. Long averages a team-leading 14.6 points as well as 4.1 rebounds per game. He has paced the Mules in seven of their 11 games, including a season-high 30 points in their last outing against Southwest Baptist.
Junior forward Charles Hammork is scoring 10.8 points per game while pulling down 4.9 rebounds per game. The Coffeyville Community College transfer is shooting .485 (33-68) from the field. Senior guards Widgett Washington and Reggie Stallings are averaging 10.2 and 10.1 points per game, respectively. Washington paces the Mules with 41 assists and 19 steals on the season. Stallings is second on the team in rebounding (5.0 rpg).
As a team, UCM is averaging 74.0 points per game and shooting 45.0 percent from the field (285-of-633). The Mules are shooting 31.7 percent from 3-point range (64-for-202) and 70.6 percent from the free throw line (180-for-255).
Probable Starters
Pitt State (10-2, 3-1 MIAA)
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.
Lincoln (2-12, 1-3 MIAA)
C 50 Sean Harris, 6-9, 270, Jr., San Antonio, Texas
F 4 Montez Fifer, 6-4, 195, Jr., Memphis, Tenn.
F 42 Charles Cole, 6-7, 190, Jr., Lancaster, Calif.
G 1 Shakir Preston, 6-4, 185, Jr., Phoenix, Ariz.
G 12 Cedric Ridle, 6-2, 165, Sr., Gary, Ind.
Central Missouri (8-3, 2-1 MIAA)
C 0 Matt Webb, 6-8, 250, Sr., Kansas City, Mo.
F 11 Dominique Long, 6-6, 185, Sr., Waynesville, Mo.
G 5 Lance Beckwith, 6-0, 185, Sr., Raleigh, N.C.
G 12 Widgett Washington, 6-0, 160, Sr., Kansas City, Mo.
G 23 Reggie Stallings, 6-4, 200, Sr., Flint, Mich.
