PITTSBURG — The Pittsburg State University men's basketball team will hit the road for a pair of MIAA match-ups against the University of Central Missouri and Lincoln University this week.

The Gorillas and the Mules will meet at 7:30 p.m. Thursday (Feb. 2) at UCM's Multipurpose Building, while Pitt State and the Blue Tigers will battle at 3 p.m. Saturday (Feb. 4) at Jason Gymnasium on the LU 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 6-15 overall record (3-12 MIAA) under first year head coach Jeff Boschee who was hired to lead the Pitt State basketball program on Mar. 9, 2022.

The Gorillas split a pair of home games last week. Pitt State dropped an 80-70 decision to No. 4 ranked University of Central Oklahoma on Jan. 26, before bouncing back with a 93-81 victory over Newman University last Saturday (Jan. 28).

Central Missouri is 9-11 overall and 5-9 in the MIAA. The Mules dropped a 57-49 road decision to Lincoln the last time out last Saturday (Jan. 28).

Lincoln is 13-5 overall and 9-5 in MIAA play heading into a Thursday (Feb. 2) home game against Missouri Southern State University. The Blue Tigers have won two striaght and six of their last seven games.

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 Mules will meet for the 126th time Thursday. UCM holds a 76-49 lead in the series, including a 47-15 advantage in games played at Warrensburg, Mo. The Mules posted a 64-62 last-second win over the Gorillas in Pittsburg on Dec. 17. 

Saturday's action will mark the 48th all-time meeting between Pitt State and Lincoln. The Gorillas hold a 36-11 advantage in the series, but the Blue Tigers have won the last six match-ups at Jason Gym. Pitt State beat LU, 66-54, in Pittsburg in the MIAA opener on Nov. 28.

Scouting the Gorillas
The Gorillas have two players scoring in double figures early in the season: junior guard/forward Deshaun English II (13.9 ppg) and senior guard Quentin Hardict Jr. (13.6 ppg).

English has averaged a double-double on the season. The Pittsburg native has contributed 13.9 points, 10.0 rebounds and 1.3 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 nine of 20 games played on the year.

English currently ranks second in the MIAA in rebounding, third in the league in minutes played (34.5) and fourth in the conference in blocked shots. 

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 13.6 points, 4.1 rebounds and 4.9  assists per game. He scored a team-leading 23 points in the Gorillas win over Sioux Falls on Nov. 13 and he posted a double-double with 21 points and 10 assists vs. UCO (Jan. 26). He currently leads 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 9.0 points and 3.0 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 7.7 points and 2.5 rebounds on the season. He has made a team-leading 48 3-point field goals (48-120, .400). 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 6.3 points and 2.9 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.

Freshman guard Landen Hughlett joined the Gorillas active roster on Jan. 12 and he's appeared in six games on the season, averaging 6.3 points per game. He scored a season high 19 points vs. NU (Jan. 28).

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.

Senior forward Calvin Poulina also is contributing 6.1 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.

Freshman center Tane Prictor made his season debut vs. HSSU and has played in 14 games on the season, averaging 2.69 points, 2.6 rebounds and 0.9 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 .426 from the field (493-1158), .681 from the free throw line (209-307) and averaging 66.0 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.