PITTSBURG — The Pittsburg State University men's basketball team will return to the hardwood for its first action in three weeks when the Gorillas entertain Avila (Mo.) University in a non-conference game Monday (Jan. 2).
Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. (CST) at John Lance Arena.

The Records
Pitt State is 1-10 overall entering Monday's action. The Gorillas will seek to halt an eight-game losing streak when they face the Eagles.

Pitt State dropped a pair of tightly-contests road decisions in its last action, falling 89-83 to Lindenwood on Dec. 9 and 71-65 to Lincoln  on Dec. 10.

Avila brings a 1-11 record into Monday's tilt. The Eagles dropped their first 10 games before knocking off Clarke University (73-64) on Dec. 3. AU dropped an 87-60 decision to Baker University in its last action on Dec. 10.

Head Coach Kevin Muff
Pittsburg State's Kevin Muff is 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 93-90 (.508) 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.

Monday's action will be Muff's fourth meeting vs. Avila. He's 3-0 against the Eagles.

Series History
The Gorillas will meet Avila for the ninth time in program history Monday. The Gorillas hold a 7-1 advantage in the series. The two teams last met on Nov. 23, 2013, with Pitt State taking a 96-82 decision over the Eagles.

Scouting the Gorillas
Pitt State has six players averaging between 7.5 and 11.5 points a game early in the season:  junior guard Jaxon Holden (11.5 ppg), junior guard/forward Isaiah Hicks (10.0 ppg), junior guard Dakota Jones (9.4 ppg), senior forward Creighton Brinker (9.0 ppg), freshman guard Brandon Clifford (8.9 ppg) and freshman guard R.J. Pair (7.3 ppg).

Holden has returned to the Pitt State lineup the past four games, after suffering a concussion in Pitt State's exhibition game against Kansas State and missing the Gorillas' first seven games.

Holden (6-1, 180) has averaged a team-leading 11. 5 points and 3.0 rebounds per game in the last four outings. He averaged 7.7 points and 2.0 rebounds per game in his first season  for the Gorillas in 2015-16. 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.

Hicks (6-6, 205) joined 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.

In addition to his 10.0-point scoring average, Hicks leads the team in rebounds (5.5 rpg).

Jones (5-11, 175) poured in 22 points in the season-opening loss to MSU on Nov. 11 and he added 20 points in a home win vs. Newman on Nov. 15. He has missed the last three games due to injury.
The Warrensburg, Mo., native averaged 11.7 points per game last season, and Jones has compiled 656 points in 69 career games (9.5 ppg).

Brinker (6-7, 215) broke out with a career-high scoring performance against SCSU on Nov. 12.  The Seneca, Kan., native scored 18 points on five of seven shooting from the field. He connected on all four of his 3-point field goal attempts.

Brinker bettered that performance with a 26-point, eight-rebound effort vs. UNK on Dec. 1, making 10 of 15 shots from the field.

For the season, Brinker is shooting .548 from the field (34-62) including .613 from 3-point range (19-31).  He's also averaging 5.4 rebounds and 1.1 blocked shots per game to date.

Clifford (6-3, 190) scored a team-leading 24 points in his Pitt State debut on Nov. 11 against Minnesota State. The Paragould, Ark., native made eight of 11 shots from the field, including a pair of 3-pointers. He added nine points against SCSU the next night.

Clifford 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.

Pair (5-10, 175) scored a season-best 14 points against FHSU on Dec. 3 and he added 13 points against Lindenwood on Dec. 9.

He 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. He compiled 1,143 points, 273 assists, 145 3-point field goals and 194 steals during his prep career.

Pair has grabbed 2.3 rebounds per game and dished out a team-leading 20 assists to go along with his 7.5-point scoring average.

Additionally, junior guard Elijah 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. He is averaging 7.3 points and 3.9 rebounds per game to date.

Senior guard Jordan Phelps has averaged 4.5 points per game. Phelps (6-3, 180) transferred to Pitt State from Our Lady of the Lake (Texas) University.

Freshman forward Christian Edmondson has averaged 3.1 points and 3.6 rebounds per game.  Edmondson (6-6, 215) posted a double-double with 12 points and 15 rebounds in the Gorillas' home win over Newman on Nov. 15. Edmondson 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.

Senior guard Josiah Gustafson averaged 3.3 points per game in limited action after returning from an off-season shoulder surgery. He has missed the Gorillas' last three games.

Gustafson, a two-time All-MIAA performer, started 60 games the previous two seasons.  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 has scored 1,150 points in 90 career games (79 starts), averaging 12.8 points per game.

As a team, Pitt State is shooting 41.5 percent from the field (260-626), 38.2 percent from 3-point range (95-249) and 64.3 percent from the free throw line (126-196).  The Gorillas are averaging 67.4 points per game.

Pitt State's opponents are shooting 46.5 percent from the field (290-623), 39.8 percent from 3-point range (82-206) and 73.0 percent from the free throw line (187-256) while averaging 77.2 points per game.

Pitt State Probable Starters
    F    1    Isaiah Hicks, 6-6, 205, Jr., Long Beach, Calif.
    F    23    Creighton Brinker, 6-7, 215, Sr., Seneca, Kan.
    G    3    Elijah Gaines, 6-2, 175, Jr., San Pedro, Calif.
    G    10    R.J. Pair, 5-10, 175, Fr., The Colony, Texas
    G    21    Jaxon Holden, 6-1, 180, Jr., Flower Mound, Texas