PITTSBURG — The Pittsburg State University men's basketball team will travel to Kansas City, Mo., to open play in the 2025 MIAA Basketball Championships presented by Southern Bank Friday (Mar. 7) at historic Municipal Auditorium.

The Gorillas, the No. 4 seed in the tournament, will face No. 5 seed University of Nebraska-Kearney at Noon (CST).

Friday's MIAA Championships quarterfinals game 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.

Single Session Tickets for the MIAA Tournament are $25 for adults, $10 for students (college students must show I.D.). All-session passes for all games played at Kansas City are $85 and can be purchased at the Municipal Auditorium box office or through ticketmaster.com.

The Record
The Gorillas enter the MIAA Basketball Championships with a 17-11 overall record (13-6 MIAA). Pitt State finished the regular season in a tie for second place in the conference standings with Rogers State University.

The Gorillas received the No. 4 seed in the tournament based upon KPI rankings, a results-based metric meant to quantify how hard it was for a team to achieve a record given its schedule. This is the first year the MIAA has used KPI rankings to determine tournament seeding.

Nebraska-Kearney completed regular season play 12-15 overall and 10-9 in MIAA play.

The winner of the Pitt State-UNK match-up will advance to the MIAA Basketball Championships semifinals Saturday (Mar. 8) at Noon. The 2025 MIAA Basketball Championships finals is set for 1 p.m. (CST) Sunday (Mar. 9).

Head Coach Jeff Boschee
Jeff Boschee is in 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 197-128 (.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
Pitt State and Kearney will meet for the 51st time in program history Friday. The Lopers hold a 35-15 advantage in the series.

This will be the second time the Gorillas and Lopers meet in MIAA Postseason Tournament play. Pitt State posted a 79-76 win over UNK on Mar. 4, 2020, in the first round of the 2020 MIAA Postseason Tournament.

The two squads met one time this season, on Feb. 20 at Kearney, Neb., and the Gorillas prevailed, 100-93. Jordan Frison scored 26 points , including 10 points in the game's final 2:45, and dished out a school record 18 assists in the high scoring affair.

Gorillas in the MIAA Championships
Pitt State is making its 25th appearance in the MIAA Basketball Championships. The Gorillas have compiled a 22-23 (.489) record in 45 MIAA Championships games and reached the Finals of the tournament five times, including capturing the 2015 MIAA Championships crown. The Gorillas finished as the 2024 MIAA Championships runner-up a year ago.

Pitt State has compiled a 12-13 (.480) record in MIAA Championships games played at Municipal Auditorium.

All-MIAA Lineup
Three members of the Pitt State starting lineup garnered some form of All-MIAA honors Tuesday (Mar. 4):  sophomore guard Jordan Frison, graduate guard Avery Taggart and senior guard R.J. Forney Jr.

Frison was selected to the first-team All-MIAA squad and he was voted the 2025 MIAA Player of the Year. Taggart was tabbled second-team All-MIAA, while Forney received honorable mention All-MIAA recognition. Forney also was named to the five-man MIAA All-Defensive Team for a second straight year.

Scouting the Gorillas
The Gorillas have three players scoring in double figures to date: sophomore guard Jordan Frison, graduate guard Avery Taggart and redshirt senior guard R.J. Forney Jr.

Frison (6-0, 170) is contributing a team-leading 17.3 points, 3.8 rebounds and 6.3 assists per game. He currently ranks second in the MIAA in scoring and he leads the MIAA and ranks fifth in NCAA Division II in assists. Frison was named to the first-team All-MIAA squad and was selected the 2025 MIAA Player of the Year earlier this week.

The Memphis, Tenn., native broke the school record and posted the second highest single game assist total in MIAA history on Feb. 20 when he dished out 18 helpers against UNK. He also moved into second place on Pitt State's single season chart with 175 assists, needing seven more to break Oscar Gonzalez's record of 181 from 1999.

Frison was named the MIAA Player of the Week for the second time this season on Feb. 24 after averaging 28.0 points, 11.0 assists and 6.0 rebounds in a pair of games the previous week.

Frison, who also was named the MIAA Player of the Week on Feb. 10, has posted four 30-point scoring games on the year, including a pair of career-best 34 point efforts vs. MSSU on Jan. 25 and vs. NU on Feb. 8.

Frison returned for his second season in the program following an All-MIAA campaign in which he was selected the 2023-24 MIAA Freshman of the Year. He started all 31 games played a year ago, averaging 11.6 points, 4.4 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 1.3 steals per game. Frison finished the season ranked second in the MIAA in assists and 12th in the league in steals.

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

He has scored 844 points (14.3 ppg) and dished out 334 assists (5.7 apg) in 59 career games for the Gorillas.

Taggart is averaging 15.0 points and 4.7 rebounds as well as 3.2 assists per game. He has made a team-leading 92 3-point field goals (92-209, .440). Taggart ranks 12th in the MIAA in scoring and second in the conference in 3-point field goals (3.3 pg) and 3-point field goal percentage.

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

He scored a career best 27 points vs. MSSU on Jan. 7.

Forney is averaging 11.1 points per game on the season. He is shooting .472 from the field (102-216), including .455 from 3-point range (75-165). Forney also is contributing 4.1 rebounds per game. He scored a career best 25 points in the Gorillas win vs. St. Cloud State on Nov. 10.

Forney leads the MIAA in 3-point field goal percentage and he ranks third in the conference in 3-point field goals (2.8 pg).

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 90 of 125 games played, scoring 875 points (7.0 ppg) and converting 235 3-point field goals. He ranks in third place in program history in 3-point field goals made and he has played in more games (125) than any player in school history.

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 has contributed 9.5 points, 3.9 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game on the season. He scored a career high 18 points in Pitt State's home opening win against Arkansas Tech on Nov. 24.

Mans (6-6, 200) started 14 games in 2023-24 and averaged 8.0 points per game. The Wichita native converted 46 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 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 Darrell Washington has chipped in with 9.4 points and 4.7 rebounds per game in seven games played. Washington, who has been sidelined the past 21 games, is shooting .538 from the field (28-52).

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.

Redshirt freshman guard/forward Evan Jackson is averaging 7.3 points and 5.0 rebounds in 24 games played. Jackson is shooting a team-leading .644 from the field (65-101). He has posted two double-doubles, including 15 points and 11 rebounds vs. RSU on Jan. 15.

Jackson (Chicago, Ill.) 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.

Junior center Tane Prictor is averaging 7.0 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.1 blocked shots in 26 games played. He posted a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds vs. MSSU  on Jan. 25.

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.

Junior guard Johannes Kirsipuu is contributing 5.3 points per game. He fired in a career high 21 points in the Gorillas' road loss to NSU on Jan. 30.

Kirsipuu (Sulu, Estonia) came 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.

Sophomore forward Miles Branch also is averaging 2.8 points and 2.3 rebounds per game in 20 games played.

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.

Redshirt sophomore Hayden Shanks (1.6 ppg) also has seen action in 20 games for the Gorillas, while freshman David Cobin Jr. (1.3 ppg) has played in 21 games in his debut season.

Shanks (Bentonville, Ark.) competed 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.

Cobin (De Soto, Kan.) was a first-team All-State selection as a senior at De Soto High School in 2023-24, averaging 19.6 points , 5.3 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 4.2 steals per game for the Wildcats.