The Collegio Pittsburg's student voice since 1916
Curtis Meyer reporter
The men’s basketball team was able to break out of their slump this past weekend, as they broke their three-game losing streak at home against Northeastern State, keeping them above .500 on the season. Sitting at 9-5, the Gorillas now hold a 10-8 record going into this week’s matchup against Central Missouri. It wasn’t all good news this week, as Pitt State fell to Rogers State for their third loss.
“Defensively they are active, they’re physical, that’s part of it. They’re an old veteran team, got a lot of upperclassmen, strong, and we knew that’s what it was going to be. Signed up to play this, got to know what your up against and got to take care of the basketball,” said head coach Jeff Boschee.
The Gorillas held a 43 to 35 lead at half, but it quickly dwindled, leaving the Gorillas to play catch up late in the game. It took a 12-1 run early in the second to erase a 13-point lead, and the Gorillas were unable to answer.
“I thought we did some good things too, we moved the ball well, I thought we moved it a lot better than we did the previous two games. But it’s hard to overcome 17 turnovers, 23 points off of that,” said Boschee.
Junior guard R. J. Forney led Pitt State with 18 points on six of seven shooting from deep, while senior Jeremy Shaw added 17. Freshmen guard Jordan Frison and sophomore center Tane Prictor each chipped in 12 points for the 79-86 loss.
“Coach has really been harping on us about getting those turnovers down, last few games we’ve been averaging 16 to 17 a game. We get rid of those, cut them down by at least five, I think we win that game by 5 0r 6,” said Forney. “Coach has a saying, he says ‘you can be mad about it for 24 hours, get by it, then get ready for the next one.
Following the disappointing loss, Pitt State responded by defeating the Northeastern State Riverhawks 97-73 at home on Saturday. It was a solid performance for the team, scoring 50 points in the first half and 47 in the second.
Senior Deshaun English II led the attack, posting a career high 28 points, as well as seven rebounds, six assists, and four blocked shots. Frison added 17 points and eight assists, while Forney and sophomore guard Tanner Mans each had 12 points in the win.
With the win Pitt State has already won more conference games than they did the previous year in Boschee’s first season when they went 5-17. With it being the middle of the season, the next few weeks will tell if the Gorillas find themselves playing more meaningful games down the stretch and into the Spring. Sitting at 6-6 right now, Pitt State will look to add onto that record as they face the Central Missouri Mules, the Central Oklahoma Bronchos, and the Newman Jets all on the road.