The Pittsburg State University men’s basketball team will open the exhibition season at 3 p.m. today. The contest will be regionally telecast on Fox Sports Kansas City.
The Gorillas return two starters and five letterwinners from their 2008-09 squad, which posted a 10-17 overall record.
Kansas State will take the court for the first time in 2009, as well. The Wildcats, who return four starters, posted a 22-12 mark a year ago and advanced to the second round of the Postseason NIT.
The Gorillas, who welcome four transfers and three freshmen to the squad, will look to its veteran cast for leadership.
Senior guard Spencer Magana and senior forward Rodney Grace lead Pitt State's elder statesmen. Magana (6-4, 192), a native of Dewey, Okla., averaged 12.4 points per game, starting 26 games as a junior in 2009.
Grace (6-6, 195), from Omaha, Neb., contributed 10.2 points and 5.7 rebounds in 23 starts for Pitt State a year ago. Senior forward Henry Rogers (6-7, 195) also started a pair of games, averaging 2.6 points and 2.5 rebounds per game last year.
K-State returns more than 80 percent of its scoring in 2009-10, including three of its top five scorers in senior guard Denis Clemente (15.0 ppg.), junior guard Jacob Pullen (13.9 ppg.) and sophomore forward Jamar Samuels (8.3 ppg.)
This will be just the second time that the two teams have met in exhibition play, with the Wildcats earning an 88-69 win over the Gorillas on Nov. 11, 2004. Officially, the two squads have met just once with K-State posting a 76-66 win in Martin's first season on Nov. 11, 2007. That game counted as an exhibition for Pitt State.
PITTSBURG —
