PITTSBURG — The Pittsburg State University men's basketball team will travel to Kansas City, Mo., to host the 12-team Central Region Challenge at historic Municipal Auditorium.

As part of the three-day, 12-game schedule, the Gorillas will face Winona State University at 5 p.m. (CST) Friday (Nov. 8) and St. Cloud State University at 2 p.m. Sunday (Nov. 10).

Both Friday and Saturday's action have five games on the docket beginning at 11 a.m., while the tournament will wrap up with a pair of games Sunday. 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.

The Record
The Central Region Challenge action will mark the Gorillas 2024-25 season debut under third-year head coach Jeff Boschee.

The Gorillas return two starters – sophomore guard Jordan Frison and redshirt senior guard R.J. Forney Jr. – and seven letterwinners from a 2023-24 squad that posted a 21-11 record and qualified for the NCAA Division II National Tournament. Frison averaged 11.6 points and 5.1 assists per game and earned honorable mention All-MIAA honors. Additionally, he was tabbed as the MIAA Freshman of the Year.

Boschee, and his staff, have supplemented the roster with five transfers and a pair of incoming freshmen.

Head Coach Jeff Boschee
Jeff Boschee begins his third year as head basketball coach at Pittsburg State. He guided the Gorillas to a 21-11 record and a berth in the NCAA Division II National Tournament a year ago. Pitt State posted a 15-7 mark in MIAA play and the squad reached the finals of the 2023-24 MIAA Postseason Tournament.

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

He has a 180-117 (.606) 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
Friday's action will mark the third all-time meeting between Pitt State and Winona State. The Warriors are 2-0 against the Gorillas, including a 60-50 victory in the Central Region Challenge two years ago on Nov. 11, 2022.

Pitt State and St. Cloud State will meet for the sixth time in program history Sunday. The Huskies lead the all-time series, 3-2. SCSU posted an 80-73 season-opening win over the Gorillas in the Central Region Challenge last year on Nov. 10.

Scouting the Gorillas
The Gorillas return two starters – sophomore guard Jordan Frison and redshirt senior guard R.J. Forney Jr. – and seven lettermen from the 2023-24 season.

Frison (Memphis, Tenn.) returns following an All-MIAA campaign for the Gorillas in which he was selected the 2023-24 MIAA Freshman of the Year. Frison started all 31 games played for the season, averaging 11.6 points, 4.4 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 1.3 steals per game. He finished the season ranked second in the MIAA in assists and 12th in the league in steals.

Frison (6-0, 170) scored a season best 24 points in a road win over Newman on Feb. 3 last year. He also set the all-time Pitt State single game assist record with 13 helpers against Henderson State on Dec. 19. He added 17 points in the game for his first career double-double. He notched a second double-double with 11 points, a season high 10 rebounds and seven assists vs. Missouri Western on Mar. 2.

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

Forney (Broken Arrow, Okla.) averaged 7.2 points and 3.4 rebounds last year and hit a team-leading 63 3-point field goals. He averaged 2.0 3-point field goals per game, shooting .426 from behind the arc (63-148). Forney was selected to the five-man 2023-24 MIAA All-Defensive Team.

He contributed 8.9 points per game and knocked down 70 3-pointers (2.5 per game) during the 2022-23 campaign. Forney (6-3, 180) scored a career high 19 points against Emporia State on Feb. 23, 2023.

For his career, Forney has started 63 of 98 games played, scoring 575 points (5.9 ppg) and converting 160 3-point field goals. He ranks fifth in program history in 3-point field goals made.

Forney 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 Tanner Mans returns for a second year in the program, after starting 14 games in 2023-24 and averaging 8.0 points per game. The Wichita native converted 46 of of 102 3-point field goals, shooting .451 from 3-point range. He also shot .900 from the free throw line, making 36 of 40 attempts.

Mans (6-6, 200) had a season-best 16 points in a road game against Central Oklahoma on Feb. 1.

Mans 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.

Junior center Tane Prictor returns for his third season in the Pitt State program. Prictor (Bend, Ore.) started in four of 23 games played in 2023-24, averaging 5.2 points and 3.0 rebounds per game. He also blocked 34 shots on the season.

Prictor (6-11, 275) posted his first career double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds vs. MSSU on Feb. 11, 2023. He scored a career best 13 points vs. William Jewell last year (Nov. 25) and he recorded six blocked shots vs. Nebraska-Kearney (Jan. 11).

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 sophomore Hayden Shanks also returns for his third year in the Pitt State program. Shanks (Bentonville, Ark.) saw action in 20 games in a reserve role for the Gorillas last year.

He 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.

Redshirt freshman guard/forward Evan Jackson and redshirt freshman forward/center Henry Cowles also are back for their second seasons in the Pitt State program.

Jackson (6-7, 200) saw action in six games in 2023-24 before an injury cut short his rookie campaign. He was a McDonald's All-America nominee as a senior at the De La Salle Institute, where he averaged 14.6 points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots per game.

Cowles (6-11, 230) joined the Gorillas from Scotland Campus Sports prep school. The Conway, Ark., native also competed at Morrilton High School prior to attending Scotland Prep his senior year.

The Gorillas welcome five transfers into the program:  junior center Darrell Washington, graduate guard Avery Taggert, junior guards Domonic Turner and Johannes Kirsipuu and sophomore forward Miles Branch.

Washington (Lake Charles, La.) joined the Gorillas last January, after playing his sophomore season at Lee College in 2022-23. He averaged 6.1 points and 2.8 rebounds in 21 games played for the Navigators.

Taggert (Eureka, Mo.) transferred to Pitt State from MIAA rival Missouri Southern. A two-time honorable mention All-MIAA performer, Taggert started in 71 of 107 career games for the Lions, scoring 1,050 points (9.8 ppg) and making 184 3-point field goals.

Turner (Cushing, Okla.) played his sophomore season at Seminole State College in 2023-24. Turner (6-4, 200) averaged 9.2 points and 4.5 rebounds per game for the Trojans.

Kirsipuu (Sulu, Estonia) comes to Pitt State after two seasons at NCAA Division I Central Arkansas. Kirsipuu (6-2, 185) started 26 of 55 career games for the Bears. He averaged 6.6 points and 4.1 assists per game last year.

Branch (Lawrence, Kan.) transferred to Pitt State after two seasons at the University of South Dakota. Branch (6-9, 225) redshirted in 2023-24, after seeing action in 16 games for the Coyotes as a freshman in 2022-23.

Additionally, the Gorillas welcome two freshmen into the program for the 2024-25 season:  guards David Cobin Jr. (De Soto, Kan./De Soto High School and Maddox Dow (Shawnee, Kan./De Soto High School).