PITTSBURG — The Pittsburg State University men's basketball team secured an at-large berth into the 2024 NCAA Division II National Tournament which gets underway Mar. 16. The Gorillas earned the No. 5 seed in the Central Regional to be played at the Taylor Center at Mankato, Minn., Mar. 16-19.

Pitt State will open regional quarterfinal action Saturday (Mar. 16) by facing No. 4 seed Minnesota State University-Moorhead at 7:30 p.m. (CDT).

NCAA Central Regional (Saturday, March 16)
Gm 1 – No. 3 Minnesota Duluth (25-6) vs. No. 6 Fort Hays State (23-7), Noon
Gm 2 – No. 2 Northwest Missouri (27-4) vs. No. 7 Southwest Minn. State (19-12), 2:30 p.m.
Gm 3 – No. 1 Minnesota State (29-2) vs. No. 8 Arkansas Tech (25-6), 5 p.m.
Gm 4 – No. 4 Minnesota State-Moorhead (24-5) vs. No. 5 Pittsburg State (21-10), 7:30 p.m.

NCAA Central Regional (Sunday, March 17)
Gm 5 – Gm 1 winner vs. Gm 2 winner, 5 p.m.
Gm 6 – Gm 3 winner vs. Gm 4 winner, 7:30 p.m.

NCAA Central Regional (Tuesday, March 19)
Gm 7 – Central Regional Championship, 7 p.m.

The Record
The Gorillas enter the NCAA Central Regional with a 21-10 overall record. Pitt State is ranked among "others receiving votes" in this week's NABC/NCAA Division II Top 25 poll. The Gorillas advanced to the finals of the 2024 MIAA Basketball Championships at Kanasas City, Mo., last weekend before falling to No. 4 Northwest Missouri State University, 78-65, in the tournament title game.

MSU Moorhead enters the post season with a 24-5 overall record.  The Dragons, ranked No. 11 in the most recent NABC/Division II Top 25 poll, were upset by Winona State University, 69-65, in the quarterfinals of the NSIC Championships in their last action on Mar. 3.

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; and he's now one win away from directing Pitt State to a 20-win campaign in year two.

Boschee has an 29-30 (.492) mark at Pitt State and a 180-116 (.608) 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.


Gorillas in the NCAA Tournament
Pitt State is making its seventh appearance in the NCAA Division II National Tournament – its first since the 2015 season. The Gorillas have compiled a 4-6 (.444) record in 10 NCAA Tournament games.
Pitt State reached the Sweet 16 (regional finals) during the 1997 season, the Gorillas deepest run in the national tournament.

2014-15 – Central Regional (Sioux Falls, S.D.)
    lost to Minnesota State-Moorhead, 80-68 (1st round)
2006-07 – South Central Regional (Warrensburg, Mo.)
    lost to Northwest Missouri, 73-54 (1st round)
2004-05 – South Central Regional (Commerce, Texas)
    defeated St. Mary's, 73-59 (1st round)
    lost to Tarleton State, 65-59, OT (semifinals)
1998-99 – South Central Regional (Wichita Falls, Texas)
    lost to Abilene Christian, 79-59 (semifinals)
1997-98 – South Central Regional (Canyon, Texas)
    defeated Northwest Missouri, 85-70 (1st round)
    lost to West Texas A&M, 90-79 (semifinals)
1996-97 – South Central Regional (Topeka, Kan.)
    defeated Missouri Western, 72-70 (1st round)
    defeated Central Oklahoma, 90-84 (semifinals)
    lost to Texas A&M-Commerce, 89-83 (finals)

Pitt State also made seven trips to the NAIA National Tournament, placing third in 1942 (23-5) and 1956 (27-2) and compiling a 16-7 overall NAIA postseason record.

This is MSUM's eighth appearance in the NCAA National Tournament since joining the NCAA-II ranks in 1994-95. The Dragons are in the national field for the fourth straight season. MSUM advanced to the Elite Eight in 2014-15.

Series History
This will be just the second all-time meeting between the Gorillas and the Dragons. MSUM claimed an 80-68 victory on Mar. 14, 2015, in the quarterfinals of the 2015 NCAA-II Central Regional at Sioux Falls, S.D.

Pitt State's all-time record against the other Central Regional foes:  vs. Minnesota State (2-1), vs. Northwest Missouri (68-73), vs. Minn. Duluth (0-0), vs. Fort Hays State (78-91), vs. Southwest Minn. State (), vs. Ark. Tech (4-6).

All-MIAA Lineup
Four members of the Pitt State starting lineup garnered some form of All-MIAA honors Tuesday (Mar. 5):  senior guard/forwards Deshaun English II and Jeramy Shaw, redshirt junior guard R.J. Forney Jr. and freshman guard Jordan Frison.

English was selected to the first-team All-MIAA squad, while Shaw was tabbed third-team All-MIAA. Forney was named to the five-man All-Defensive Team, while Frison received honorable mention All-MIAA recognition. Frison also was voted the 2024 MIAA Freshman of the Year.

Scouting the Gorillas
Four Pitt State players – senior guard/forward Jeramy Shaw (17.5 ppg), sophomore guard Max Alexander (14.8 ppg), senior guard/forward Deshaun English II (14.2 ppg) and freshman guard Jordan Frison (11.8 ppg) – are averaging in double figures on the season.

Shaw returned to the Pitt State lineup for the High Desert Classic in December and he has made a big splash since. The St. Louis, Mo., native is averaging 17.5 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game while shooting .584 from the field (136-233). He scored a career best 34 points in the MIAA Tournament against Central Oklahoma.

Shaw ranks fourth in the MIAA in scoring and third in the conference in field goal percentage. He earned MIAA Player of the Week honors on Dec. 20.

Shaw (6-6, 205) started 11 of 28 games played last season, averaging 6.6 points and 2.5 rebounds per game. He shot 51.3 percent from the field on the year, converting 61 of 119 attempts.

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.

Alexander (5-11, 180) is averaging 14.8 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.1 steals per game. He's shooting .442 from the floor (155-351) and .849 from the free throw line (129-152). Alexander ranks sixth in the MIAA in free throw percentage and ninth in scoring.

He scored a career best 31 points vs. MWSU on Nov. 24. Alexander earned MIAA Player of the Week honors on Dec. 11 after averaging 29.5 points, 6.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists in a pair of wins.

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 (6-6, 220) is contributing 14.2 points, 9.8 rebounds and 1.7 blocked shots per game. He has made 165 of 297 (.556) shots from the floor. English leads the MIAA in rebounding, ranks second in blocks, sixth in field goal percentage and 12th in scoring. He has twice been named MIAA Player of the Week this season. English has posted 14 double-doubles this year and scored a career-best 28 points vs. NSU (Jan. 27).

English (Pittsburg, Kan.) returned for a second season 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 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.

For his career, he has scored 837 points (14.4 ppg), grabbed 559 rebounds (9.6 rpg) and blocked 90 shots (1.6 bpg) in 58 games.

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.

Frison (5-11, 165) has enjoyed a highly productive debut season for the Gorillas. He's averaging  11.8 points, 4.5 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game through 30 games played. The Memphis, Tenn., native also is shooting .468 from the field (123-263). Frison leads the MIAA in assists.

He scored a career best 24 points vs. Newman on Feb. 3; and he's dished out 157 assists on the year, the fifth-best total in Pitt State history. He needs four helpers to move into second place on the single season list.

Frison broke the Pitt State single game record by dishing out 13 assists against Henderson State on Dec. 19. He added 17 points to post his first career double-double for the Gorillas.

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.

Sophomore guard Tanner Mans also made his season debut at Las Vegas; and he's averaging 8.1 points and 3.7 rebounds in 23 games for the Gorillas. He has hit 45 3-pointers to date (45-101, .440, 2.0 per game), ranking 10th in the MIAA in 3-point field goals per game.

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.

Redshirt junior guard R.J. Forney Jr. is averaging 7.2 points and 3.4 rebounds per game. He scored a career high 18 points vs. RSU on Jan. 24, making six of seven 3-point field goal attempts in the game. Forney has made a team-leading 62 3-pointers on the season (62-143, .434), ranking fifth in the MIAA (2.1 pg) in 3-point field goals 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 season 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 62 of 97 career games for the Gorillas, compiling 569 points (5.9 ppg), 238 rebounds (2.5 rpg) and 159 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.

Junior center Braydon Redd is contributing 5.8 points and 2.6 rebounds in 23 games played. He's shooting .533 from the field (48-90) 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.

Sophomore center Tane Prictor is averaging 5.2 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.5 blocked shots in 23 games played. He ranks third in the MIAA in blocked shots.

Prictor (Bend, Ore.) started in five of 21 games played in his debut season in 2022-23, 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 Carter Hjelmstad also seen significant action for the Gorillas.

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

Pitt State Probable Starters
  F   3   Deshaun English II, 6-6, 220, Sr., Pittsburg, Kan.
  F   4   Jeramy Shaw, 6-6, 205, Sr., St. Louis, Mo.
  G   5   Jordan Frison, 5-11, 165, Fr., Memphis, Tenn.
  G  10   R.J. Forney Jr., 6-3, 180, R-Jr., Broken Arrow, Okla.
  G  23   Tanner Mans, 6-6, 190, So., Wichita, Kan.