PITTSBURG — The Pittsburg State University men's basketball team will return to campus to host a pair of MIAA foes in the University of Central Oklahoma and Newman University this week.

The Gorillas and the Bronchos will meet at 7:30 p.m. Thursday (Jan. 26) at John Lance Arena/Whetzel Court, while Pitt State and Newman will battle at 3:30 p.m. Saturday (Jan. 28).

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 5-14 overall record (2-11 MIAA) under first year head coach Jeff Boschee who was hired to lead the Pitt State basketball program on Mar. 9, 2022.

The Gorillas dropped a pair of home games to Emporia State University (79-63) and Washburn University (93-63) last week.

Central Oklahoma is 18-1 overall, 12-1 in the MIAA and ranked No. 4 in the most recent NABC/NCAA Division II Top 25 poll. The Bronchos enter Thursday's action riding an 11-game winning streak.

Newman is 6-12 overall and 2-10 in MIAA play heading into a Thursday (Jan. 26) road game against Missouri Southern State University. The Jets dropped an 88-81 road decision to UCO at Edmond, Okla., last Saturday.

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
The Gorillas and Bronchos will meet for the 40th time Thursday. UCO holds a slim, 22-17, lead in the series. The Bronchos downed Pitt State, 77-60, in the first meeting of the season on Dec. 11 at Edmond, Okla. 

This will be the 33rd all-time meeting between Pitt State and Newman. The Gorillas hold a 19-13 advantage in the series, including winning 10 of the last 12 match-ups. Pitt State beat the Jets, 69-64, at Wichita on Dec. 7.

Scouting the Gorillas
The Gorillas have two players scoring in double figures early in the season: senior guard Quentin Hardict Jr. (12.9 ppg) and junior guard/forward Deshaun English II (12.8 ppg).

Hardrict is averaging 12.9 points, 4.0 rebounds and 4.4  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 second 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.

English has averaged a double double in his first 18 games in a Gorilla uniform – he missed the HSSU game due to injury. The Pittsburg native has contributed 12.8 points, 10.1 rebounds and 1.2 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 eight of 18 games played on the year.

English currently ranks second in the MIAA in rebounding and third in the league in blocked shots and minutes played (34.2 pg). 

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.

Junior guard Albert McBride is averaging 9.5 points and 3.1 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 7.5 points and 2.6 rebounds on the season. He has made a team-leading 42 3-point field goals (42-109, .385). 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.

Junior guard/forward Jeramy Shaw has added 6.4 points and 3.0 rebounds to the Gorillas stat ledger. He scored a season best 14 points vs. MSSU (Jan. 2).

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.

Senior forward Calvin Poulina also is contributing 6.2 points and 3.9 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.

Freshman guard Landen Hughlett joined the Gorillas active roster on Jan. 12 and he's appeared in four games on the season, averaging 3.3 points per game.

Hughlett came to Pitt State from Kimball (Texas) High School, where the standout prep guard helped the Knights to a 30-8 record his senior season.

Freshman center Tane Prictor made his season debut vs. HSSU and has played in 12 games on the season, averaging 2.9 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.1 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.

Redshirt junior center Ethan Holloway is contributing 2.8 points and 2.1 rebounds per game to date. Holloway has converted 56.5 percent (13-23) 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 41 career games, averaging 2.1 points and 1.4 rebounds per game and shooting .515 from the field (34-66).

He was a two-time Kansas Class 4A All-State performer and a four-year All-SEK League honoree at Iola High School.

As a team, Pitt State is shooting .417 from the field (433-1038), .673 from the free throw line (191-284) and averaging 64.3 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.