PITTSBURG — The Pittsburg State University men's basketball team will hit the road for a pair of MIAA road games this week as the Gorillas battle Newman University Wednesday (Dec. 7) and the University of Central Oklahoma Sunday (Dec. 11).

The Gorillas and Jets will tip-off at 7:30 p.m. (CST) Wednesday at Fugate Gymnasium at Wichita, while the Pitt State - UCO match-up will start at 3:30 p.m. Sunday at Hamilton Field House at Edmond, Okla.

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 is 3-5 overall and 1-2 in MIAA play on the young season under first year head coach Jeff Boschee who was hired to lead the Pitt State basketball program on Mar. 9, 2022.

The Gorillas played host to three conference foes last week, posting a 1-2 record. Pitt State lost to No. 1 ranked Northwest Missouri State University, 73-62, in its last action Saturday (Dec. 3). The Gorillas also downed Lincoln University, 66-54, on Nov. 30 before dropping a last-second 66-65 decision to Missouri Western State University Thursday (Dec. 1).

Newman is 4-4 overall and 0-2 in the MIAA. The Jets dropped a 69-53 road decision to the University of Central Missouri in their last action Saturday (Dec. 3).

UCO is 7-0 overall, 2-0 in the MIAA and ranked No. 7 in the most recent NABC/NCAA Division II Top 25 poll. The Bronchos swept a pair of road games against UCM (64-58) and Lincoln (78-63) last week.

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. [for complete biography, see page 3]

Series History

This will be the 32nd all-time meeting between Pitt State and Newman. The Gorillas hold an 18-13 advantage in the series, including winning nine of the last 11 match-ups. Pitt State also has won three of the last four meetings at Fugate Gym.

The Gorillas and Bronchos will meet for the 39th time Sunday. UCO holds a slim, 21-17, lead in the series thanks to a 12-3 record against the Gorillas in games played at Edmond, Okla.

Scouting the Gorillas
The Gorillas have three players scoring in double figures early in the season: junior guard/forward Deshaun English II (13.7 ppg), senior guard Quentin Hardict Jr. (13.4 ppg) and junior guard Albert McBride (10.6 ppg).

English has averaged a double double in his first eight games in a Gorilla uniform – he missed the HSSU game due to injury. The Pittsburg native has contributed a team-leading 13.7 points, 12.7 rebounds and 1.4 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 five of seven games on the year.

English currently leads the MIAA in minutes played (35.9 pg). He ranks second in the league in rebounding and 15th 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 13.4 points, 4.1 rebounds and 4.1 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 seventh 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.

McBride is averaging 10.6 points and 2.9 rebounds per game. He scored a season high 18 points vs. HSSU.

McBride leads the MIAA in minutes played (34.8 pg) and he ranks sixth in the league in 3-point field goal percentage (.469, 15-32).

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 2.8 rebounds in Pitt State's first eight games. He has made a team-leading 20 3-point field goals (20-54, .370). Forney scored a career best 17 points and hit five 3-pointers vs. MWSU (Dec. 1).

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 5.8 points and 2.6 rebounds on the season. He scored a season best 13 points vs. Illinois-Springfield (Nov. 19).

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 5.4 points and 1.9 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 4.5 points and 2.9 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 3.8 points and 2.5 rebounds per game to date. Holloway has converted 52.9 percent (9-17) of his shots on the young season.

Holloway (6-8, 220) returned for his fifth year in the Pitt State program.

The Iola, Kan., native has played in 36 career games, averaging 2.1 points and 1.4 rebounds per game and shooting .508 from the field (30-59).

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 three games on the season, averaging 5.3 points, 3.0 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 .438 from the field (193-441), .621 from the free throw line (64-103) and averaging 65.4 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.