PITTSBURG — The Pittsburg State University men's basketball team will travel to St. Cloud, Minn., to open the 2016-17 season by taking part in the MIAA/NSIC Challenge on Friday and Saturday (Nov. 11-12).The Gorillas will open the season Friday at 5 p.m. (CST) against Minnesota State University. Pitt State then will meet the host school, St. Cloud State University, Saturday at 5 p.m.
MIAA rival Missouri Southern State University also will compete in the four-time classic format tournament against SCSU Friday and MSU Saturday.
The Record
Pitt State is coming off a 16-13 campaign during the 2015-16 season. The Gorillas captured the MIAA Postseason Tournament Championship for the first time in school history in 2014-15 and qualified for the NCAA Division II National Tournament for the sixth time in program history.
The Gorillas return three starters and six letterwinners from last year's squad, including senior guard Josiah Gustafson – a second-team All-MIAA selection who averaged 15.4 points and 5.1 rebounds a year ago.
Pitt State opened the 2016-17 season with a pair of exhibition games against Big 12 foes Kansas State University on Oct. 28 and Oklahoma State Unviersity on Nov. 1. The Gorillas dropped an 85-72 decision to the Wildcats and a 117-64 decision to the Cowboys.
Head Coach Kevin Muff
Pittsburg State's Kevin Muff enters his seventh 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 92-80 (.535) record in his tenure with the Gorillas.
Muff was named the 2015 MIAA Co-Coach of the Year after leading the Gorillas to a 16-11 regular season record and a tie for third-place in the MIAA standings. Pitt State was picked to finish 10th in the 14-team league in the MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll after posting an 8-18 (4-15 MIAA) mark a year ago.
He then guided the Gorillas to a perfect 4-0 record in the MIAA Postseason Tournament, helping the Gorillas become the first No. 5 seed to claim the championship. Pitt State earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Division II National Tournament and finished the 2014-15 campaign with a 20-12 overall record.
Series History
Friday's match-up will be the second all-time meeting between the Gorillas and the Mavericks. Pitt State posted a 62-59 victory over Minnesota State in the season opener a year ago in the MIAA/NSIC Challenge at Joplin, Mo.
The Gorillas are 2-0 all-time against SCSU. The two squads met last year in the MIAA/NSIC Challenge at Joplin with Pitt State taking an 85-69 decision.
Scouting the Gorillas
Pitt State returns four players who started five or more games during the 2015-16 campaign, including a two-time All-MIAA selection in senior guard Josiah Gustafson.
Gustafson (6-6, 205) has started 60 games the past two seasons for the Gorillas. The Omaha, Neb., native averaged 15.4 points and 5.1 rebounds per game during his junior campaign, garnering second-team All-MIAA honors.
He shot 49.8 percent from the field (143-287) and made a team-leading 53 3-pointers (.473, 53-112). Gustafson ranked 11th in the MIAA in scoring, eighth in the league in field goal percentage and second in the conference in free throw percentage (.885, 92-104).
Gustafson scored in double figures 22 times during the 2015-16 campaign with six games of 20 points or more.
He earned first-team All-MIAA honors as a sophomore in 2014-15 when he averaged a team-leading 15.5 points per game as well as 3.6 rebounds per game.
Gustafson enters the 2016-17 season with 1,137 points in 86 career games (76 starts), averaging 13.2 points per game.
Junior guard Dakota Jones also returns for his third year in the Pitt State program. Jones (5-11, 175) started all 29 games for the Gorillas in 2015-16, averaging 11.7 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game.
The Warrensburg, Mo., native shot 44.0 percent from 3-point range (44-100) and he's compiled 581 points in 61 career games (9.5 ppg).
Junior guard Jaxon Holden averaged 7.7 points and 2.0 rebounds per game in his first season for the Gorillas. The Flower Mound, Texas native shot 49.1 percent from the field and made 26 3-point field goals while starting 13 of 23 games played.
Holden played his freshman season at NCAA Division I Stephen F. Austin University in 2014-15, helping the Lumberjacks to a 29-5 record.
Senior forward Trevor Gregory also started five of 16 games played last season while battling injury. Gregory (6-7, 240) contributed 4.0 points and 2.5 rebounds, while shooting 55.3 percent (26 of 47) from the field. The Lee's Summit, Mo., native has scored 396 points in 73 career games (5.4 ppg).
Senior forward Creighton Brinker (6-7, 215) returns for his second season in the program, after playing two years at Cloud County Community College. The Seneca, Kan., native averaged 2.0 points and 1.9 rebounds per game last year.
Sophomore forward Lucas Wilson (6-6, 190) also is back after seeing limited action as a redshirt freshman for the Gorillas a year ago.
The Gorillas also welcome nine newcomers to the squad – led by a pair of junior transfers in guard/forward Isaiah Hicks and guard Elijah Gaines.
Hicks (6-6, 205) joins the Gorillas from Cloud County Community College, where he averaged 6.8 points per game as a sophomore in 2014-15. The Long Beach, Calif., native averaged 12.3 points and 6.3 rebounds per game as a freshman at Allan Hancock College in Santa Maria, Calif., in 2013-14.
Gaines (6-2, 175) averaged 11.8 points and 4.1 rebounds per game while helping Long Beach (Calif.) Community College to a second straight South Coast Conference championship in 2015-16.
Junior forward Miles Harrison also transferred to Pitt State from Kennedy-King College in Chicago where he haveraged 6.1 points per game.
Harrison (6-6, 185) helped Simeon Career Academy in Chicago to a 33-1 record and a state championship as a junior in 2012. He helped Seton Academy in Chicago to a 23-11 record and a state runner-up finish as a senior in 2013.
Freshman forward Christian Edmondson (6-6, 215) joined the Gorillas from Flower Mound (Texas) High School where he was a first-team Texas Class 6A All-District selection in 201516. He averaged a double-double for the season, generating 14.5 points and 10.5 rebounds per game for the Jaguars.
Freshman guard R.J. Pair signed with the Gorillas out of The Colony High School in The Colony, Texas. A two-time first-team All-District selection, Pair averaged 15 points, five assists and 4.5 rebounds per game his senior season.
Pair compiled 1,143 points, 273 assists, 145 3-point field goals and 194 steals during his prep career.
Freshman guard Brandon Clifford (6-3, 190) was a two-time Arkansas Class 5A All-State selection at Paragould High School. He averaged 28 points, six rebounds and four assists as a senior, helping the Rams to a 20-5 finish.
Freshman guard Robbie Ostermann joined the Gorillas from Manhattan High School, which he helped earn back-to-back Centennial League titles in 2015 and 2016. He played his sophomore season at Nolan Catholic High School in Fort Worth, Texas.
Ostermann (6-3, 175) compiled 385 career prep points and made 85 career 3-point field goals.
Pitt State Exhibition Action
Newcomers led the Gorillas in their exhibition action against K-State and Oklahoma State.
Freshmen guards Brandon Clifford and R.J. Pair both averaged double-digit scoring in the two contests. Clifford averaged a team-leading 11.5 points while shooting 50 percent from the field (5-10) in the two games. Pair averaged 10 points while shooting 47.1 percent (8-17) from the field.
Senior transfer Jordan Phelps also averaged 8.5 points and 5.0 rebounds in the two contests, while junior transfer Isaiah Hicks averaged 8.5 points and 4.5 rebounds – he contributed 10 points and eight rebounds vs. K-State.
The Gorillas played the two exhibition games without the services of senior guard Josiah Gustafson, a two-time All-MIAA performer, as well as senior forward Trevor Gregory. Neither player is expected to take the court this weekend as they continue to rehab injuries.
