PITTSBURG — The Pittsburg State University men's basketball team will travel to Las Vegas, Nev., to co-host the newly revived High Desert Classic along with the University of Central Oklahoma. As part of the two-day, 10-game schedule, the Gorillas will face Truman State University at 4 p.m. (CST) Monday (Dec. 18) and Henderson State University at 4 p.m. Tuesday (Dec. 19).

Both Monday and Tuesday's action have five games on the docket at Desert Oasis High School beginning at Noon (CST). Click Here for the full tournament schedule.

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.

High Desert Classic
The High Desert Classic was held annually in mid-December at Las Vegas for 18 seasons between 1993 and 2010 and co-sponsored by long time University of Central Missouri and UCO athletic directors Jerry Hughes and John "Skip" Wagnon.

Hughes, who passed away on Jan. 21 following a brief illness, served as Athletic Director at UCM for 40 years and had been employed by his alma mater since 1979. Wagnon served as Director of Athletics at UCO from 1986-2003, overseeing the department's move into Division II. He also served as men's golf coach, head athletic trainer, and Alumni Director for the university at different times during his 25-plus year career at UCO.

This year's tournament is being played in memory of Hughes and Wagnon.

The Record
Pitt State is 4-4 on the season. The Gorillas swept a pair of home games last week against MIAA rivals Newman University (82-66) and No. 3 ranked UCO (75-66).

The Gorillas snapped a three-game losing streak with the victory against the Jets on Dec. 7.

Truman is 3-5 overall to date. The Bulldogs dropped a 105-79 road decision to Upper Iowa University in their last action on Dec. 9.

Henderson State is 3-5 on the season heading into a Monday match-up against No. 7 ranked UCO. The Reddies posted a 78-65 road win over Harding University Thursday (Dec. 14).

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. Boschee has a 163-110 (.597) career record as a head coach.

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.

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
Pitt State and Truman will meet for the 49th time in program history Monday. The Gorillas hold a 36-12 advantage in the series. The two teams last met on Nov. 21, 2021, with the Bulldogs taking a 71-62 win in a game played at Joplin, Mo.

Tuesday's action will mark the fifth all-time meeting between the Gorillas and the Reddies. The series is tied, 2-2. HSU beat Pitt State, 59-57, in the last meeting on Nov. 24, 2021, at Arkadelphia, Ark.

Scouting the Gorillas
Three Pitt State players – sophomore guard Max Alexander, freshman guard Jordan Frison and senior guard/forward Deshaun English II – are averaging in double figures early in the season.

Alexander (5-11, 180) is averaging 22.1 points, 3.4 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.0 steals per game. He's shooting .450 from the floor (59-131). Alexander currently leads the MIAA in scoring and he's fourth in the conference in steals to date.

He scored a career best 31 points vs. MWSU on Nov. 24 and followed that up with a 24-point game vs. NWMSU on Dec. 2. Alexander earned MIAA Player of the Week honors Monday (Dec. 11) after averaging 29.5 points, 6.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists in a pair of wins last week.

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.

Frison (5-11, 165) is off to a hot start to his Pitt State career. He's averaging  15.0 points, 5.1 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game through eight games played. The Memphis, Tenn., native also is shooting .500 from the field (43-86). He currently ranks fourth in the MIAA in assists and 14th in the league in scoring.

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.

English is contributing 11.8 points and 8.6 rebounds per game. He has made 32 of 63 (.508) shots from the floor. English ranks third in the MIAA in rebounding after posting 20 points and 16 rebounds in a win vs. Newman on Dec. 7.

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.

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 9.8 points and 4.2 rebounds in six games played. He's shooting .500 from the field (20-40) and .731 from the free throw line (19-26) to date.

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 8.0 points and 3.5 rebounds per game. He matched his career high by scoring 17 points in the Gorillas' upset win over No. 3 UCO on Dec. 9. Forney currently ranks fourth in the MIAA in 3-point field goals (2.3 pg).

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.

Forney has started 40 of 75 career games for the Gorillas, compiling 416 points (5.5 ppg), 164 rebounds (2.2 rpg) and 115 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 5.3 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.8 blocked shots in six games played. 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 significant action for the Gorillas.

Jackson has contributed 4.0 points and 4.3 rebounds per game in six games played 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 beginning Monday. 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 starting with the High Desert Classic 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.