PITTSBURG — The Pittsburg State University men's basketball team will travel to Kansas City, Mo., to play in the 2018 MIAA Postseason Tournament Quarterfinals Friday (Mar. 2) at historic Municipal Auditorium. The Gorillas, the No. 8 seed in the tournament, will face No. 1 seed Northwest Missouri State University Friday at 6 p.m. (CST).  Pitt State advanced to the tournament quarterfinals with an 81-60 victory over No. 9 seed Lincoln University Tuesday (Feb. 27) in Pittsburg, while NWMSU earned a bye into the quarterfinals with its top four seeding.

The Records
Pitt State heads to Kansas City with a 17-12 overall record. Pitt State finished in a tie for eighth place in the conference standings with Lincoln wth a 9-10 league mark, and the Gorillas earned the No. 8 seed in the MIAA Tournament.

The Gorillas are making their 21st all-time appearance in the MIAA Tournament. Pitt State is 19-18 in MIAA Tournament games with one tournament title (2015) and three runner-up finishes (1997, 2007, 2012).

The Bearcats, the defending NCAA Division II national champions, claimed the 2017-18 MIAA regular season title with a 24-3 overall record and a 16-3 mark in conference play.

The winner of the Pitt State-NWMSU match-up advances to the MIAA Tournament semifinals Saturday (Mar. 3) at 8:15 to face the victor in the No. 4 versus No. 5 match-up between the University of Central Oklahoma and the University of Central Missouri.

Head Coach Kim Anderson
Pittsburg State's Kim Anderson is in his first season leading the Gorillas. He has a 17-12 record. Anderson (Missouri, '79) became the Gorillas' 15th all-time head coach on Apr. 10, 2017, after coaching the past three seasons at his alma mater – the University of Missouri.

He has a 318-174 (.646) record in 16 seasons as a collegiate head coach, including the 2014 NCAA Division II National Championship as head coach at the University of Central Missouri as well as two more Division II Final Four appearances (2007, 2009) while compiling a 274-95 (.743) record at the school.

Anderson led UCM to seven trips to the NCAA Division II National Tournament and seven 20-win seasons.  In his final season with the Mules he guided the squad to a 30-5 overall record and the D2 national title.

His Mules teams captured six MIAA regular season titles (2005, 2007, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014) and four MIAA Tournament titles (2005, 2007, 2009, 2013).

He was selected the MIAA Coach of the Year in 2005 and 2010, and the NCAA Division II National Coach of the Year in 2014.

Series History
Pitt State and NWMSU will meet for the 131st time Friday. The Gorillas hold a 68-62 advantage in the series, but the Bearcats have won 11 of the last 14 battles including a pair of wins against Pitt State this year. The Gorillas are 3-3 against the Bearcats in the MIAA Tournament including wins in each of the last two encounters:  65-58, on Mar. 7, 2015; and, 56-53, on Mar. 3, 2012.

All-Time Victories
Pitt State has compiled a 1424-1176 (.547) all-time record in 109 seasons of intercollegiate play. The Gorillas rank 15th on the NCAA Division II wins list (1420).

Scouting the Gorillas
Pitt State enters the MIAA Tournament averaging 85.2 points per game and shooting 49.5 percent from the field. The Gorillas lead the MIAA in scoring.

Pitt State has four players averaging in double figures on the season: senior guard/forward Xavier Adams (17.9 ppg), junior guard Donovan Franklin (16.3 ppg), junior guard Grant Lozoya (12.7 ppg) and junior forward Demetrius Levarity (11.0 ppg).

Adams is averaging 17.9 points and a team-leading 7.3 rebounds per game. He also is shooting 53.1 percent from the floor (172-324). Adams (6-6, 215) ranks fourth in the MIAA in scoring, seventh in the league in rebounding and fourth in the conference in field goal percentage (.531).

Adams, who earned third-team All-MIAA honors Tuesday (Feb. 27), posted his eighth double-double of the season with 10 points and 11 rebounds in the Gorillas' win over LU in the first round of the MIAA tournament Tuesday. He scored a season-best 31 points in a road loss to MSSU on Feb. 20.

He is one of just 18 players in Pitt State history to score 500 or more points in a season. Adams currently has 519 points on the year, ranking 17th all-time at PSU in single season scoring.
Adams joined the Gorillas from the University of New Mexico. He started 14 of 77 career games in three seasons for the Lobos. The Flower Mound, Texas, native averaged 4.6 points and 2.6 rebounds per game as a sophomore in 2015-16. He contributed 3.9 points per game as a junior in 2016-17 before suffering a season-ending injury in early January.

Franklin (6-5, 205) scored a game-high 30 points and grabbed a game-high nine rebounds in his Pitt State debut against MSU on Nov. 10. He scored a game-high 28 points in the Gorillas road win against NSU on Jan. 27.

Franklin also scored a season-best 31 points in the Gorillas' 93-80 road win over MWSU on Feb. 17.

The St. Louis, Mo., native is shooting 49.0 percent from the field (121-247) and 87.4 percent from the free throw line (125-143). Franklin ranks 10th in the MIAA in scoring and fifth in the conference in free throw percentage (.874).

Franklin joined the Gorillas from Indiana State University. He averaged 4.2 points and 1.5 rebounds in 26 games for the Sycamores in 2016-17. He averaged 14.9 points a game as a freshman at Gulf Coast State College in Panama City, Fla.

Lozoya scored a season-high 24 points against Central Oklahoma on Jan. 25 and he has dished out 70 assists (3.1 apg). He ranks 17th in the MIAA in assists and 11th in the conference in steals (1.1 spg).

Lozoya scored 12 of his game-high 23 points against SBU on Feb. 10 in the game's final 2:05 as Pitt State held off the Bearcats late.

Lozoya (6-3, 180) came to Pitt State after three years at Stetson University. The Agoura Hills, Calif., native averaged 9.6 points and 3.3 rebounds per game as a freshman for the Hatters in 2014-15, earning All-Freshman honors from the Atlantic Sun Conference. He contributed 7.4 points and 2.5 rebounds as a sophomore in 2015-16, before exercising a medical redshirt in 2016-17.

Levarity is contributing 11.0 points and 5.5 rebounds per game. He averaged 19.5 points in a pair of games between Feb. 15-17 including a season-high 22 points against MWSU (Feb. 17). The New Orleans, La., native also scored 19 points in a road game against FHSU on Dec. 2.

Levarity (6-7, 210) transferred to Pitt State from Sam Houston State University, where he redshirted in 2016-17. He contributed 15.2 points and 4.3 rebounds per game as a sophomore at Southeastern Illinois College.

The Gorillas have four additional players scoring between 5.7 and 9.5 points a game:  junior guard Jabari Antwine (9.5 ppg), senior guard Jaxon Holden (7.4 ppg), junior center Deitrich Cole, Jr. (5.6 ppg) and junior guard Dakota Jones (5.7 ppg).  

Antwine posted the first triple double in Pitt State program history on Dec. 30 when he scored 12 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and dished out 10 assists against CCCB.

He also scored 18 points and hit the game-winning 3-pointer with 5.1 seconds left against Washburn on Jan. 20.

For the season, the Chicago native is averaging 9.5 points, 2.8  rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.4 steals in 25 games played. He ranks 10th in the MIAA in assists and seventh in the conference in steals (1.4 spg).

Antwine (6-1, 155) averaged 9.0 points, 4.0 assists, 2.8 steals and 1.9 steals as a sophomore at Moberly Area Community College in 2016-17, earning second-team All-Region and All-Conference honors.

Holden is contributing 7.4 points per game and shooting 52.5 percent from the field (53-101). The Flower Mound, Texas, native has knocked down 32 of 76 3-point field goal attempts (.421) in 22 games played.

Holden (6-1, 180) scored a season-high 18 points against UAFS on Nov. 18. He missed five games due to illness, but returned to the lineup on Jan. 17 vs. ESU.

Holden started 13 games for the Gorillas a year ago, averaging 10.5 points per game. He missed 14 games due to injury. He has started 38 of 58 career games for the Gorillas, after transferring to Pitt State following his freshman season from Stephen F. Austin University.

Cole is shooting 63.4 percent from the floor (59-93) and averaging 3.6 rebounds in 25 games played. He scored a season-high 15 points vs. ESU (Jan. 17) and he contributed eight points and eight rebounds vs. WU (Jan. 20).

Cole (6-10, 240), a Detroit native, averaged 2.5 points and shot 55 percent from the field at Moberly Area Community College last season. He also averaged 2.4 rebounds and recorded 11 blocked shots on the year.

Jones, a Warrensburg, Mo., native, is contributing 5.8 points per game on the year. He has started the last 17 games, averaging 8.2 points per game in those contests. Jones, who has scored 822 points in 98 career games for the Gorillas (8.3 ppg), scored a career-best 21 points in Pitt State's 74-70 home win over UCM in the regular season finale last Saturday (Feb. 24).

Pitt State Probable Starters
    F    5    Demetrius Levarity, 6-7, 210, Jr., New Orleans, La.
    F    21    Xavier Adams, 6-6, 215, Sr., Flower Mound, Texas
    G    2    Grant Lozoya, 6-3, 180, Jr., Agoura Hills, Calif.
    G    3    Donovan Franklin, 6-5, 205, Jr., St. Louis, Mo.
    G    32    Dakota Jones, 5-11, 175, Sr., Warrensburg, Mo.