PSU men keep their eyes on the prize

The Pittsburg State men’s basketball team ended December with a 9-1 record and now sits at 12-5 overall, 5-4 in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association after three losses over the last four games.

“With the start of the season and the success we had early, break coming on when it did probably wasn't the best thing for us because we were playing good at that time,” Pitt State head coach Kevin Muff said. “Sometimes breaks can be beneficial and sometimes breaks can take away your rhythm from you.

“Coming back from break, obviously conference is a whole different animal. Some of the losses that we've experienced have been difficult ones to take. Our guys aren't happy with where they're at and as a coaching staff, we keep demanding more out of them. They want to do better, they want to be successful and in this business, everything, for the most part on the outside looking in, is based on wins and losses. What it comes down to is winning games. I believe, as the coach of this team, from the inside looking out, that this team works hard and they're an extremely coachable group.”

Muff said that his players, especially the newcomers, have a clearer picture of the difficulties of the MIAA this year.

All three of the recent losses have been on the road, against Central Missouri, Missouri Southern and Northeastern State. The Gorillas do have conference road wins against Lindenwood and Lincoln.

“The two wins early before Christmas were big and the Kearney game ended up being a good win,” Muff said. “We just need to find a way. Road wins, in the end, are going to be critical and I think we can protect our home floor. The Northeastern game was frustrating because we had two or three opportunities to win that and we just didn't get it done.”

Pitt State lost 64-62 to Northeastern State on Wednesday, a bitter pill to swallow after coming back from a 12-point second half deficit to gain the lead and then see it unravel in the final seconds in heartbreaking fashion. Northeastern State made a difficult shot with 6 seconds remaining, then Pitt State missed a 3-point shot and a putback as time expired.

Muff said the Gorillas hope to use this week in between games (from Northeastern State to Missouri Western on Wednesday) to gather themselves and reenergize for the stretch run of the season.

“There's not a lot of time left,” Muff said. “When it starts rolling in January and you hit February, the conference tournament's right around the corner. Our goal is to play for a conference championship and to be there in the hunt. That's why a loss to Northeastern is difficult to take. That would have been a big step forward for us. But we can't dwell on that and we've got to get ready for Missouri Western on Wednesday.”

The key word for MIAA basketball would be parity. After all, the lone nationally-ranked team in the conference, Washburn, currently sits at fourth place in the MIAA and owns a 5-3 conference record, a game ahead of Pitt State, Lindenwood and Fort Hays State in the loss column.

“I like the aspect of night in, night out having to be ready to play and having to play at the top of your game,” Muff said. “There's really no clear-cut top and bottom in this conference.

“It's a talented league and it's a very well-coached league. The coaches in this conference . . . look at Larry Gipson and what's he done at Northeastern. Look at Kim Anderson and what he's done at Central. Coach Soderberg (Brad Soderberg) at Lindenwood and his Division I experience and what's he done and will continue to do with that program.”

Unlike previous seasons, so far Pitt State has avoided the losing streaks of three, four or five games. The Gorillas have only lost back-to-back games this season once, road games against Central Missouri and Missouri Southern.

“This team's matured,” Muff said. “We've had some adversity and you can look at adversity in different realms. In the basketball world, adversity comes in the forms of wins and losses, tough losses and injuries. In our basketball family, we've faced some adversity and I think the guys have responded very well to it. We need to continue to respond to it and give ourselves a chance to win some games. We're right on the cusp of turning a corner.”

Muff, a defensive-oriented coach, focuses on effort, consistent effort.
“Some of the (bad) stretches that we've gone through, we've kind of missed that,” Muff said. “One guy would disappear and it's been everybody, it's everybody's responsibility. . . . You've got to find a way to impact the game if you're going to be in there playing minutes. There's a lot of ways you can impact a game and I think they're beginning to see how maybe it's not in scoring, it's rebounding or it's on the defensive end and even on the bench, staying involved and getting on your feet, being a great teammate.”

The Gorillas have developed roles but on any given night, several players find ways to impact the team in a positive way.

“We talk a lot about it,” Muff said. “If you set those (personal goals, ambitions) aside for the team, you'll end up getting all those in the long run anyway. Be selfless and put the team's needs ahead of your own. It's a we before me attitude. We talk a lot about it with this group and this group's responded well.”

Key on the Gorillas are four seniors — forward JaVon McGee, guard Courtney Ingram, guard Marky Nolen and forward Rico Pierrevilus.
McGee, a four-year player, recently joined the 1,000-career point club at Pitt State, Ingram (three years) transferred from Drury, and Nolen and Pierrevilus came aboard last year after two seasons playing junior college basketball.

“I love this senior group,” Muff said. “From the way Courtney Ingram's elevated his level of play to a more consistent level, to Marky and the energy he brings and how he's learned how to be a positive guy on the floor and yet remain competitive and Rico, three of the last four games he's stepped up and even though his numbers weren't great against Northeastern, he's been playing well. JaVon, since he's got past the hand issue, he's been on fire, he's been shooting over 50 percent and he's been close to double-doubles in most games. He's been a very positive player for us.”

Six players average at least 8.0 points per game — leading scorer and freshman point guard Kaleb Porter 13.9, McGee 12.4, Ingram 11.4, Nolen 9.5, junior college transfer A.J. Adams 8.8 and Pierrevilus 8.5.

The Gorillas have led the MIAA in free throws attempted, free throws made and rebounding all season.

MIAA STANDINGS
MEN
School                         MIAA    Overall
Central Missouri          8-1    14-3
Northeastern State      7-3    14-4
Northwest Missouri     6-3    13-5
Lindenwood                5-4    12-5
Pitt State                     5-4    12-5
Fort Hays State           5-4    11-6
Central Oklahoma       4-4    6-10
Missouri Southern       4-5    9-8
Southwest Baptist       4-5    6-11
Emporia State             3-4    8-7
Missouri Western        4-6    8-10
Truman State              4-6    7-11
Nebraska-Kearney      2-8    5-13
Lincoln                         2-8    3-17

Saturday, Jan. 26
Washburn 66, Lindenwood 63
Fort Hays State 74, Truman State 68
Southwest Baptist 89, Nebraska-Kearney 88
Central Missouri 60, Northwest Missouri 50
Northeastern State 73, Missouri Southern 54
Missouri Western 61, Lincoln 59

Sunday, Jan. 27
Central Oklahoma at Emporia State