PITTSBURG — The Pittsburg State University men's basketball team will open MIAA play with a pair of road contests against Missouri Western State University and Northwest Missouri State University this week.

The Gorillas will face the Griffons Thursday (Nov. 30) at 7:30 p.m. (CST) at the MWSU Fieldhouse at St. Joseph, Mo.; and Pitt State will battle the Bearcats Saturday (Dec. 2) Saturday (Dec. 2) at 3:30 p.m. at Bearcat Arena at Maryville, Mo.

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 Record
Pitt State is 2-2 on the young season after splitting a pair of games last week. The Gorillas defeated McPherson College, 75-54, last Tuesday (Nov. 21) at John Lance Arena, before dropping an 85-72 home decision to William Jewell College last Saturday (Nov. 25).

Pitt State opened the season by splitting a pair of games against St. Cloud State University and University of Sioux Falls at the Central Region Challenge at Kansas City, Mo.

MWSU is off to a 5-0 start to the season. The Griffons downed Bethel College, 72-60, in their most recent action on Nov. 25.

NWMSU is 3-2 thus far heading into a Thursday home match-up against Missouri Southern State University. The Bearcats thumped the University of Missouri-St. Louis, 71-41, the last time out on Nov. 22.

Head Coach Jeff Boschee
Jeff Boschee is in his second year as head basketball coach at Pittsburg State. He guided a young Gorillas squad to an 8-20 record in his debut season.

Prior to accepting the Pitt State position, Boschee served as head coach at MIAA rival Missouri Southern State University the previous eight seasons. He compiled a 151-86 (.637) overall record leading the Lions.

He has a 161-108 (.599) career record as a head coach.

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
Pitt State and Western will meet for the 85th time in program history Thursday. The Griffons hold a 45-39 advantage in the series, including a 27-15 edge in games played at St. Joseph, Mo.

Saturday's action will mark the 140th all-time meeting between the Gorillas and the Bearcats. Northwest holds a 71-68 advantage in the series with a 46-19 margin in games played at Maryville, Mo. Pitt State is seeking to halt a 15-game losing streak at Bearcat Arena.

Scouting the Gorillas
Three Pitt State players – freshman guard Jordan Frison, sophomore guard Max Alexander and senior guard/forward Deshaun English II – are averaging in double figures early in the season.
Frison (5-11, 165) is off to a hot start to his Pitt State career. He's averaging  18.0 points, 6.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game – all teams highs – through four games played. The Memphis, Tenn., native also is shooting .587 from the field (27-46).

He currently ranks third in the MIAA in assists, eighth in scoring and tied for 10th in rebounding.

Frison averaged 28 points, six assists and four rebounds per game at Overton High School. He helped OHS to the 2023 Tennessee Class 4A state championship, while garnering Class 4A MVP honors.

Alexander (5-11, 180) is averaging 17.3 points, 2.0 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 2.0 steals per game. He's shooting .426 from the floor (26-61). Alexander ranks 10th in the MIAA in scoring and he's tied for fifth in the conference in steals to date.

Alexander (Buhler, Kan.) battled injury in his initial season in 2022-23, competing in two games for the Gorillas. He earned first-team Kansas All-State All-Class honors as a senior at Buhler High School in 2021, averaging 25 points, six rebounds and four assists per game for the Crusaders.

English is contributing 11.8 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. He has made 16 of 32 (.500) shots from the floor, including six of 14 (.429) from 3-point range.

English (Pittsburg, Kan.) returns following an All-MIAA junior campaign for the Gorillas. He started all 27 games played for the season, averaging a team-leading 14.7 points, 9.5 rebounds and 1.3 blocked shots per game and posting 12 double-doubles on the year. English ranked 10th in the MIAA in scoring, second in the conference in rebounding and third in the league in blocked shots and minutes played (34.5 pg).

English (6-6, 220) enjoyed a record setting game vs. Lincoln (Nov. 28) last year, scoring 17 points and tying a 56-year-old school record with 23 rebounds.

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 center Braydon Redd is contributing 9.5 points and 4.0 rebounds in two games played.

Redd (6-10, 260) averaged 13 points and nine rebounds per game at Seminole State College. The Houston native was a TABCA All-America selection at Cypress Falls High School.

Redshirt junior guard R.J. Forney Jr. is averaging 7.3 points and 3.8 rebounds per game.

Forney (Broken Arrow, Okla.) averaged 8.9 points and 2.8 rebounds last year and hit a team-leading 70 3-point field goals. He averaged 2.5 3-point field goals per game, shooting .417 from behind the arc (70-168).

Forney (6-3, 180) scored a career best 17 points and hit five 3-pointers vs. MWSU (Dec. 1) and vs. MSSU (Feb. 11) last season.  He ranked second in the MIAA in 3-point field goal percentage and sixth in the conference in 3-pointers made per game.

Forney has started 36 of 71 career games for the Gorillas, compiling 381 points (5.4 ppg), 151 rebounds (2.1 rpg) and 106 3-point field goals.

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.

Sophomore center Tane Prictor is averaging 6.3 points, 2.3 rebounds and 2.3 blocked shots thus far. He ranks third in the MIAA in blocked shots.

Prictor returns for his second season in the Pitt State program. Prictor (Bend, Ore.) started in five of 21 games played, averaging 3.7 points and 3.0 rebounds per game. He also blocked 18 shots on the season.

Prictor (6-11, 275) posted his first career double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds vs. MSSU (Feb. 11) last year.

Prictor 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 freshman Hayden Shanks also returns for his second year in the Pitt State program. Shanks (Bentonville, Ark.) garnered Arkansas Class 6A All-State honors as a senior at Bentonville High School, averaging 12 points and five rebounds a game his senior season.

Freshmen guards Evan Jackson and Carter Hjelmstad have seen action in all four games for the Gorillas.

Jackson has contributed 1.5 points and 5.0 rebounds per game, while Hjelmstad is averaging 1.0 points and 1.5 rebounds per game to date.

Jackson (6-7, 195) averaged 14.6 points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots per game as a senior at Chicago's De La Salle Institute.

Hjelmstad (6-5, 205) earned All-State honors at Edmond (Okla.) Memorial High School last year.

Senior guard/forward Jermay Shaw  will return to the Pitt State lineup for the second semester action. Shaw started 11 of 28 games played last season, averaging 6.6 points and 2.5 rebounds per game. Shaw (St. Louis, Mo.) shot 51.3 percent from the field on the year, converting 61 of 119 attempts.

He scored a season best 23 points vs. Neb.-Kearney (Feb. 18) last year.

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.

Sophomore transfer Tanner Mans also will move into the active roster for second semester action.

Mans (Wichita, Kan.) came to Pitt State from Virginia Military Institute, where he averaged 5.5 points and 3.4 rebounds per game during the 2021-22 season. He was a Kansas Class 5A All-State performer as a senior at Bishop Carroll High School.