SBU BEARCATS (17-5, 8-4 MIAA) at
PITTSBURG STATE GORILLAS (7-13, 1-12 MIAA)

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2010 • 7:30 PM
PITTSBURG, KS • JOHN LANCE ARENA
LIVE STATS: www.pittstategorillas.com/live/basketball/XLIVE.HTM
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SBU NOTES | PSU NOTES
   
PITTSBURG, Kan. -- The SBU Bearcats travel to Pittsburg State for their first road contest since January 16. The Bearcats pulled out a win Saturday night against Missouri Southern, despite missing their head coach and top player. Jeff Guiot missed the contest with the Lions due to illness and Matt Rogers went down early in the game with a knee injury. He is expected to miss a few weeks while rehabbing. SBU was ranked sixth in the first South Central Regional rankings of the season, with new rankings coming out Wednesday.
   
Rogers' absence leaves a big void in the middle. He is averaging 21.8 points per game, the second-most in the MIAA and 16th in the country. Rogers is also third on the MIAA rebounding list, with 8.8 boards every game. With 70 blocks on the year, Rogers is fifth nationally (3.6 bpg), and has 41 more blocks than anyone else in the league.
   
Looking to fill the void are Tomas Brock, SBU's starting point guard, who is third in the MIAA in assists per game (5.2), third in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.2) and is tied for sixth in free throw percentage (83.3%). In essentially three games this year SBU has played without Rogers, Brock has averaged 17.7 points per game including a career high 22 points against Central Missouri on December 2. Kurt Koenig is another player who the Bearcats can count on to step up. He is averaging 13.3 points per game (18th in MIAA), 5.3 rebounds per night and is hitting 47% from three-point range.
   
Tristan Steele has led the Bearcats in scoring in three conference matchups this season, tallying 24 points at UCM, 22 points against Pitt State and 21 versus Washburn. Steele has a team-high 41 three-pointers on the season (tenth in the MIAA). Sophomore Ryan Dougherty has scored in double figures in five of the last six games. Freshman Ivan Cropotov is averaging 11.3 points per game since moving into the starting lineup at Northwest Missouri.
   
As a team the Bearcats are ninth nationally in scoring (88.3 ppg), eighth in three-pointers per game (9.5) and eighth in free-throw percentage (76.1). SBU also leads the MIAA in scoring and threes made.

THE COACHES AND THE ALL-TIME SERIES
SBU head coach Jeff Guiot is in his sixth season in Bolivar, where he has led the Bearcats to a 124-48 (.721) record. Guiot has a 342-141 record overall, and has yet to suffer a losing season during his fifteen-year career. Guiot has won 20 games ten times, as well as eight conference titles, including three of the last four MIAA regular season championships while at SBU.
   
Pitt State head coach Gene Iba announced prior to this season that his 30th season will be his last. Iba has compiled a 259-167 mark in just over 14 seasons at PSU and 485-370 overall. SBU tied the all-time series between the teams with their 79-75 win in Bolivar on December 12. SBU has won 10 of the last 11 meetings.

SCOUTING THE GORILLAS
Pittsburg State is struggling of late, having lost seven in a row going after a loss Saturday at Central Missouri. The Gorillas are a good defensive team allowing only 69.1 which is fourth in the MIAA. Pitt State is led in scoring by Spencer Magana and Rodney Grace. Magana is seventh in the league with 16.8 points per game and Grace is twelfth with an average of 15.1 points per contest. JaVon McGee leads the team in rebounds at just under 7 boards a game and is eighth in the MIAA. Grace is also sixth in the league in field goal percentage (52.6%) while Magana is fourth in free throw percentage (86.7%) and second in threes made (2.7).
        
NEXT UP FOR THE BEARCATS
SBU finishes a run of five home games in seven dates with this Saturday afternoon's contest with Truman. It will be Hall of Fame day as four new members will be inducted in the SBU Athletics Hall of Fame at the Honors Night ceremony following the doubleheader. The Bulldogs' Ethan Freeman is second in the MIAA in rebounds with nine per game. Freeman had 17 boards against SBU in the first meeting this season, won by the Bearcats 70-62. Vesko Filchev is seventh in rebounding at 6.7 per game. Alex Henderson is ninth in assists with 3.9 per game and fifth in three-point percentage (42.9%). Tom Norton is third in threes made with 2.5 per game. Filchev, Henderson, Stefan Garrison, and Norton all average around 11 points per game.