QUICK MEMORY NEEDED

A quick memory.

That has to be the mantra for the Pittsburg State men’s and women’s basketball teams heading into this week’s MIAA play.

Both teams suffered rough defeats on Saturday at the hands of Emporia State.

But, now the focus has to be quick as the Gorillas travel to Topeka to face Washburn.

The men took the Hornets to four overtimes, only to lose 102-100.

“We have to look to Washburn,” said PSU junior forward TJ Stukes. “There is not a lot of time to think about that one.”

Stukes had 15 points and 12 rebounds for the Gorillas in the extended game against Emporia State.

Pitt State had a shot to put the Hornets away in the first overtime, leading by six with just over 3 minutes left in the period, but Emporia State made a run and forced the second overtime.

The Gorilla men are no higher than seventh in the MIAA in scoring offense (7th - 77.2 ppg), scoring defense (8th - 72.7 ppg), scoring margin (9th - +4.5) and field goal percentage (8th - .442).
But, PSU is the conference’s top school in rebounding offense (41.6 rpg) and second in blocked shots (4.50) behind No. 2-ranked Southwest Baptist.

Senior Carlos Taylor is second in the MIAA in scoring with an average of 17.9 points per game and fellow senior Spencer Magana is 16th in the conference with a 13.2 ppg average.

Junior Ivan Evans is fourth in the MIAA in defensive rebounds with 5.36 per game and Stukes ranks fifth in offensive rebounds with 2.64 per game.

“[Our inside game] is getting better,” said PSU men’s coach Gene Iba. “I think we played a lot better [against Emporia State] than we would have early but, better hasn’t been good enough.”

On the women’s side, junior post Nicole McCombs has made a name for herself in her first year in the MIAA.

Currently, McCombs is second in the conference in overall scoring with a 16.4 ppg average — just behind Southwest Baptist’s Courtney Creed’s 17.2 ppg.

PSU is coming off a 78-76 loss to No. 10 Emporia State and now takes their show on the road against No. 3 Washburn, who lost to Missouri Southern on Saturday.

“We came in [against ESU] with a chip on our shoulder,” McCombs said. “We wanted to show the rest of the league what we had.”

Thus far, the Gorillas have already matched their win total (10) from a year ago and are third in the MIAA behind league leaders Emporia State and Wednesday night’s opponent Washburn.

The Gorillas are boasting the second-best scoring offense in the conference along with the second-best overall field goal percentage.

Senior Brianna Buchanan leads the conference in three-point shooting with a .457 percentage and Candice Gilbert is averaging a league-high 3.36 steals per game.

Even with just their second conference loss of the season, the Gorillas know that, to hold their current spot or even move up, there is a tough road to hoe.

“We have to get ourselves back on track quick,” said PSU women’s coach Lane Lord.

But, he said, the loss to Emporia State should still show the rest of the conference that the Gorillas — in their second year under Lord — can be contenders.

“I think we proved that we can play with anyone in the country,” Lord said.

He was not the only one that took notice of the fact that the Gorillas have a chance to contend for a league title, especially after battling from 20 points down in the first half to take a lead in the second Saturday night against the Hornets.

“I was hoping that they wouldn’t come back because they will be one of the top teams in the conference when it is said and done,” said Hornet post Ida Edwards.

The women will square off with Washburn at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday with the men following at 7:30 p.m.

Matthew Clark can be reached at matthew.clark@morningsun.net or at 620-231-2600, Ext. 140