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PITTSBURG — The Pittsburg State University men's basketball team wrap up  its season-opening two-game road swing by traveling to Liberty, Mo., to face William Jewell College in a non-conference contest Tuesday (Nov. 19).

Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. (CST) at the Mabee Center.

The Records
Pitt State is coming off an 18-10 campaign during the 2012-13 season. The Gorillas reached the second round of the MIAA Postseason Tournament a year ago, falling 69-63 to second seeded Central Missouri at Kansas City's Municipal Auditorium. Pitt State fell in its 2013-14 season opener 80-76 against Newman on Nov. 3 at Wichita.

The Gorillas return two players who started 10 or more games a year ago in junior guard Sam Pugh and sophomore guard Jake Bullard.

William Jewell is coming off a 13-14 record, including a 9-9 mark in GLVC play.  To begin their 2013-14 campaign the Cardinals are 0-2 with losses to Missouri Western (78-55) and Northwest Missouri State (78-71).

WJC returns two starters from its 2012-13 team.

The Coaches
Pittsburg State's Kevin Muff begins 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 48-38 (.558) record in his short tenure with the Gorillas.  This will be his second meeting against William Jewell. He is 1-0.

Larry Holley enters his 35th year as head coach of the Cardinals. Potter (William Jewell, '67) has a 757-367 (.673) career mark leading his alma mater.

Series History
This will be the 17th all-time meeting between the Gorillas and the Cardinals in a series that dates back to the 1950 season.
Pitt State holds a 12-4 advantage in the series. PSU topped William Jewell, 74-69, the last time the two squads met on Nov. 28, 2012.

PSU on the Road
The Gorillas have compiled an 11-23 (.324) record on the road during the past three seasons.  WJC is 30-12 at home at Liberty, Mo., in the last three seasons.

Scouting the Gorillas
Pitt State returns two players with starting experience from the 2012-13 campaign:  junior guard Sam Pugh and sophomore guard Jake Bullard.

Pugh started 10 of 28 games a year ago, ranking fourth on the team in assists and steals. The Branson, Mo., native also contributed 3.8 and 1.5 rebounds per contest. In the season opener against Newman, Pugh tallied 17 points, five assists and three steals.

Bullard, a Cleora, Okla. native, started 15 of 23 games played in his first season for the Gorillas.  Bullard contributed seven points and 2.7 rebounds per game. He tallied five points and two assists against the Jayhawks. Bullard notched 17 points, six rebounds and three assists against Newman on Nov. 3.

As a team, Pitt State shot 44.4 percent from the field in 2012-13 while its opponents converted 41.7 percent of their shots.  The Gorillas averaged 75.7 points per game and Pitt State was  +5.5 in the rebounding department.  The Gorillas averaged 13.4 offensive rebounds per game and recorded 7.4 steals per game, forcing the opposition into 15.3 turnovers per outing.

Pitt State's 2013-14 recruiting class includes four transfers and four incoming first-year collegiate athletes.  Several of the players are expected to play significant  roles for the Gorillas this winter.

Junior forward Cody Gafford joins the squad after not playing collegiate sports for two seasons. The Olathe, Kan., helped Olathe East High School claim a Class 6A sub-state championship in 2009 – the last time he was on the court.

Junior guard/forward Connor Kjer joined the Gorillas from St. Edward's University, where he averaged nine points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals per game last season.

Junior forward Lamine Dieng comes to Pitt State from Vincennes University. Dieng averaged four points and four rebounds per game while helping Vincennes to a 33-4 record and fourth-place finish in the NJCAA Division I National Tournament last year.

Junior guard Devon Branch joined the Gorillas after two seasons at Cloud County Community College. The Aberdeen, Md., native averaged 22 points per game, earning first-team All-Jayhawk Conference honors a season ago.

Branch recorded a game-high 27 in PSU's season opener against Kansas on Tuesday (Oct. 29). He also became just the third Pitt State player since 2010 season with a 30-point effort in the team's final exhibition game against Kansas State on Nov. 1. The University of Oregon transfer also pulled down a game-high 16 rebounds against the Wildcats. On Nov. 3 at Newman, Branch led the team with 20 points on 6-of-9 shooting and also pulled down four rebounds.

After redshirting last season, junior forward Alex Williams tallied 15 points against Kansas.

Junior guard Jerrod Gaston joined the Gorillas after two seasons at Vincennes University. Gaston averaged five points, 2.4 assists and 2.3 rebounds per contest for the Trailblazers.

Pitt State's freshman class includes forwards Trevor Gregory, Hunter Leahy and guard/forward Josiah Gustafson.

Gregory averaged eight points and eight rebounds per game at Lee's Summit West High School, earning All-Districts and All-Conference honors as a senior.

Leahy was a three-year letterman at Kingwood High School. He averaged 11.2 points, six rebounds and 1.2 assists during his senior campaign.

Gustafson was named the Gatorade Nebraska Player of the Year last season, averaging 22 points, eight rebounds and four assists per game for Omaha's Millard North High School. He tallied seven points and three rebounds in his first collegiate action on Tuesday (Oct. 29) vs. KU.

Scouting the Cardinals
The Cardinals enter Tuesday's night contest with an 0-2 record after falling, 78-55, to Missouri Western and 78-71 to NW Missouri State over the weekend (Nov. 15-16). WJC lost first-team All-GLVC performer Dillon Deck, who averaged a team-high 14.9 points and 7.7 rebounds per contest.  The Cardinals also lost John Taylor from last year's team who averaged 9.8 points and 5.4 rebounds per game.

Devonte Bell leads the Cardinals scoring attack this season. The St. Louis, Mo., native has averaged 15.5 points and 2.0 rebounds through the first two games. Bell tallied 26 points on 10-of-14  (.714) shooting against NW Missouri State on Nov. 16.

Jordan Lewis is second on the team, scoring at a 12.0 points per game clip. The Liberty, Mo., native is shooting a team-high 10-of-17 (.588) from the field so far. Sophomore guard Dwight Sistrunk rounds out the three Cardinals averaging in double digits. The Des Moines, Iowa, native has averaged 10.0 points and a team-high 6.5 assists on the year. Sistrunk contributed 14 points and eight rebounds against the Bearcats in William Jewell's last game.

Freshman D'vante Mosby has posted a 9.0 point and 5.5 rebound clip to start his collegiate career. The Independence, Mo., native recorded 13 points and six rebounds in his debut with William Jewell against Missouri Western.

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    21    Sam Pugh, 6-0, 180, Jr., Branson, Mo.

William Jewell Probable Starters
    F    40    D'Vante Mosby, 6-5, 220, Fr., Independence, Mo.
    F    44    Clint McCullough, 6-6, 200, So., Lenexa, Kan.
    G    11    Dwight Sistrunk, 5-10, 160, So.,Des Moines, Iowa
    G    12    Jordan Lewis, 6-0, 185, Jr., Liberty, Mo.
    G    14    Devonte Bell, 5-10, 160, Sr., St. Louis, Mo.