PITTSBURG — The Pittsburg State University men's basketball team will travel to Joplin, Mo., Monday (Jan. 2) in a return to Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association play as the Gorillas battle Missouri Southern State University. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. (CST) at the Leggett & Platt Athletic Center on the MSSU campus.
The Pitt State action can be heard on ESPN 100.7 FM radio, online at espn1007.com/ or through the ESPN 100.7 or KSHQ app for phones or mobile devices.
The Records
Pitt State has compiled a 4-7 overall record (2-4 MIAA) under first year head coach Jeff Boschee who was hired to lead the Pitt State basketball program on Mar. 9, 2022.
The Gorillas posted a 66-54 non-conference victory over Avila University in their return from Christmas break Thursday (Dec. 29).
Missouri Southern is 7-4 overall and 3-2 in MIAA play. The Lions enter Monday's action on a three-game winning streak. MSSU posted an 82-74 win over the University of Central Missouri in their last action on Dec. 13.
Head Coach Jeff Boschee
Jeff Boschee is in his first year as head basketball coach at Pittsburg State.
Prior to accepting the Pitt State position, Boschee served as head coach at MIAA rival Missouri Southern State University the past eight seasons. He compiled a 151-86 (.637) overall record leading the Lions.
Boschee directed MSSU to four 20-win seasons and three consecutive trips to the NCAA Division II National Tournament between the 2017-18 and the 2019-20 campaigns. He was selected the 2017-18 MIAA Coach of the Year and his 2018-19 squad reached the NCAA Sweet 16 while posting a 25-8 record.
As a collegiate player, Boschee was a four-year starter at the University of Kansas under former KU coach Roy Williams from the 1998-99 to 2001-02 seasons. While at KU he helped the Jayhawks win a Big 12 Conference Championship and a Big 12 Conference Tournament title, and he played in the 2002 NCAA Final Four.
Series History
This will be the 111th all-time meeting between Pitt State and Missouri Southern in a series that dates back to the 1969 season, the Lions first season as a four-year institution. MSSU holds a 60-50 edge in the series, including a 39-15 advantage in games played in Joplin, Mo.
Pitt State swept the season series against the Lions last year, claiming a 95-82 win at Joplin on Feb. 16 and a 73-71 victory on Feb. 19.
Scouting the Gorillas
The Gorillas have two players scoring in double figures early in the season: junior guard/forward Deshaun English II (13.5 ppg) and senior guard Quentin Hardict Jr. (13.3 ppg).
English has averaged a double double in his first 10 games in a Gorilla uniform – he missed the HSSU game due to injury. The Pittsburg native has contributed a team-leading 13.5 points, 11.5 rebounds and 1.5 blocked shots per game.
English enjoyed a record setting game vs. Lincoln on Nov. 28, scoring 17 points and tying a 56-year-old school record with 23 rebounds. He has posted double-doubles in six of 11 games played on the year.
English currently ranks second in the MIAA in rebounding and blocked shots and third in the league in minutes played (34.5 pg). He ranks 18th in the conference in scoring.
English joined the Gorillas from Butler Community College. He was a two-time All-Jayhawk Conference performer for the Grizzlies, earning third-team All-Conference honors as a sophomore in 2021-22 and honorable mention All-Conference recognition as a freshman in 2019-20. He played at NCAA Division I University of Northern Colorado during the 2020-21 season.
The 2018 Kansas Class 5A Player of the Year, English averaged 20 points, eight rebounds and four assists per game his senior year at Pittsburg High School.
Hardrict is averaging 13.3 points, 3.9 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game this far. He scored a team-leading 23 points in the Gorillas win over Sioux Falls on Nov. 13. He currently ranks fifth in the MIAA in assists.
Hardrict averaged 8.8 points, 2.4 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game during his junior campaign. He started 14 of 17 games played, shooting .500 from the field on the year (43-86).
Hardrict (6-0, 165) contributed 10.8 points, 2.7 rebounds and 3.0 assists in 2020-21. He shot 45.0 percent from the field (85-189). He came to Pitt State from North Iowa Area Community College.
The Minneapolis, Minn., native was a two-time All-Iowa Community College Athletic Conference selection. Hardrict averaged 16.9 points, 3.6 rebounds and 5.6 assists per game as a sophomore in 2019-20.
He contributed 15.4 points, 2.9 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game during his freshman season.
Junior guard Albert McBride is averaging 9.6 points and 2.9 rebounds per game. He scored a season high 18 points vs. HSSU.
McBride joined the Gorillas from Coffeyville Community College. He averaged 13.2 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists for the Red Ravens last year.
McBride (6-3, 190) also played at the University of North Carolina-Asheville in 2019-20. He was a first-team All-District performer at Houston's Manvel High School as a senior in 2018-19 (18.2 ppg).
Redshirt sophomore guard R.J. Forney Jr. has contributed 8.4 points and 2.7 rebounds in Pitt State's first 12 games. He has made a team-leading 30 3-point field goals (30-72, .417). Forney scored a career best 17 points and hit five 3-pointers vs. MWSU (Dec. 1). He currently ranks sixth in the MIAA in 3-point field goals (2.5 pg) and 3-point field goal percentage.
Forney (6-3, 195) saw action in 17 games, including one start, a year ago. He has played in 39 career games, scored 103 points (2.6 ppg) and made 27 3-point field goals.
Forney started eight games and averaged 3.9 points per game as a true freshman in 2020-21. He came to Pitt State from Tulsa's Union High School, where he averaged 10.5 points, 5.3 rebounds and 4.0 assists his senior year.
Senior forward Calvin Poulina also is contributing 6.3 points and 3.8 rebounds on the season. He posted season highs of 14 points and eight rebounds vs. UCO (Dec. 11).
Poulina, an international player, transferred to Pitt State from Bethune-Cookman University, where he averaged 3.2 points and 2.0 rebounds per game in 2021-22.
Poulina (6-8, 240) contributed 6.0 points and 2.0 rebounds per game in 2019-20 at Eastern Florida State College. The native of Leiden, Netherlands played his freshman season at Binghampton University in 2018-19.
Junior guard Magic Reliford has chipped in with 6.2 points and 1.8 assists per game. He scored a season high 23 points vs. HSSU (Nov. 22).
Reliford returned for his second season with the Gorillas in 2022-23. The Parsons, Kan., native averaged 4.2 points per game, while making three starts on the season a year ago.
Reliford shot .358 from 3-point range, converting 24 of 67 attempts on the season and averaged 12.8 points during the final five games of the season.
Reliford (6-2, 172) came to Pitt State from Neosho Community College where he averaged 17.7 points per game and earned first-team All-Kansas Jayhawk Conference honors in 2020-21. He scored 30 or more points three times on the season and ranked eighth in the Jayhawk Conference in scoring.
Junior guard/forward Jeramy Shaw has added 4.3 points and 3.3 rebounds to the Gorillas stat ledger.
Shaw transferred to Pitt State from the University of Detroit Mercy. He played one season for the Titans, after earning second-team NJCAA All-America honors at North Central Missouri College in 2020-21. He averaged 16.4 points, 6.2 rebounds and 3.2 assists while shooting .559 from the field during his All-America campaign.
Shaw was a two-time Missouri Class 3A All-District performer at St. Louis' Valley Park High School.
Redshirt junior center Ethan Holloway is contributing 3.2 points and 2.3 rebounds per game to date. Holloway has converted 54.5 percent (12-22) of his shots on the season.
Holloway (6-8, 220) returned for his fifth year in the Pitt State program.
The Iola, Kan., native has played in 38 career games, averaging 2.1 points and 1.4 rebounds per game and shooting .516 from the field (33-64).
He was a two-time Kansas Class 4A All-State performer and a four-year All-SEK League honoree at Iola High School.
Freshman center Tane Prictor made his season debut vs. HSSU and has played in six games on the season, averaging 3.4 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.3 blocked shots per game.
Prictor (6-11, 275) signed with Pitt State out of Mountain View (Ore.) High School where he was an honorable mention Oregon Class 6A All-State performer as a senior for the Cougars. He averaged 16 points, eight rebounds and 2.1 blocked shots per game, leading the state of Oregon in blocked shots.
As a team, Pitt State is shooting .423 from the field (278-657), .657 from the free throw line (115-175) and averaging 65.0 points per game.
Pitt State Probable Starters
F 3 Deshaun English II, 6-6, 200, Jr., Pittsburg, Kan.
F 23 Calvin Poulina, 6-8, 240, Sr., Leiden, Netherlands
G 00 Albert McBride, 6-3, 190, Jr., Houston, Texas
G 5 Quentin Hardrict Jr., 6-0, 165, Sr., Minneapolis, Minn.
G 10 R.J. Forney Jr., 6-3, 195, R-So., Tulsa, Okla.
