Game Notes

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Bolivar, Mo. - The Bearcats return home to face Pittsburg State and look to push their home winning streak to three games and continue climb up the MIAA rankings. Fans can catch the game live on KBFL 99.9, or find live video online at www.AmericaOne.com.

The Coaches and the All-Time Series

SBU head coach Jeff Guiot continues in his seventh season on the Bearcat bench, where he has won three MIAA regular season titles, and compiled a 134-58 (.698) record. Coach Guiot has led the 'Cats to an MIAA Tournament appearance each season, and three NCAA Tournament appearnaces. Last season, SBU won 20 games for the third consecutive season, marking the first time in the history of the program the feat has been accomplished.

In his first season, Kevin Muff became the 14th all-time head coach of the Pitt State program. He takes over for former head coach Gene Iba, who retired after 15 seasons with a 261-172 record leading the Gorillas.

The Bearcats have won the past seven meetings with the Gorillas, and now lead the series 27-26. The last win for Pittsburg came in the first round of the MIAA Tournament, in 2007.

Last Time Out For The Bearcats

The Southwest Baptist University Bearcats lost a tough matchup against #11 Missouri Southern, 72-82, in Joplin Saturday night. “We had some really good things happen tonight, and generally I wasn't disappointed with how we played” head coach Jeff Guiot stated after the ballgame.

The Bearcats were lead in scoring by sophomore forward, Jacob French. French came off the bench and had a season high 17 points on seven of nine shooting from the field, and pulled down five boards in the loss. Sophomore forward Stephen Cotten posted 13 points and 8 rebounds for SBU, and freshman guard Zach Kliene added 11 points for the Bearcats. “Jacob played well, [Ryan] Dougherty played his tail off, and I thought Steven really competed. The effort was good.” coach Guiot commented.

The Bearcats bench outscored the Lions bench 32-22, and the Bearcats were able to score more points off of turnovers (27) than Missouri Southern (19). As a team, the Bearcats shot 43.3% from the field and 24.1% from beyond the arc.

Quick Hits

• Sophomore forward Jacob French posted a season high 17 points and grabbed 5 rebounds last Saturday (Jan. 29) at Missouri Southern.

• Junior guard Ryan Dougherty is the leading scorer for the Bearcats averaging 14.6 points per game, He also leads the Bearcats in field goal made (5.2 p/g), and minutes played per game (28.9 p/g).

• Junior forward Robson Memnon along with sophomore forward Steven Cotten are the inside prescene for the Bearcats. The big men average a combined 14.4 points per game and 10.0 rebounds per game.

•The Bearcats have two of the top five best three-point shooters in the MIAA. Junior Nick James holds the second highest spot (.471), and senior Tomas Brock holds the fifth spot in the MIAA (.444).

•Freshman Lane Barlow, along with freshman Zach Kleine continue to make an impact for the Bearcats. The freshman duo average a combined 10.8 points per game.

• SBU is 9-10 overall and 6-7 in the conference. The Bearcats are ninth in the MIAA standings, and average 80.9 points per game (3rd in the MIAA).

Scouting the Gorillas

Pittsburg State is currently ranked fourth in the MIAA, with an overall record of 12-6 (8-6 MIAA). PSU averages 76.2 points per game (7th in the MIAA) with a field goal percentage of .477 (4th in the MIAA). The Gorillas also average 39.2 rebounds per game (1st in the MIAA) and 9.4 steals per game (2nd in the MIAA).

Junior guard Eric Ray is the Gorillas' leading scorer averaging 12.3 points per game. Ray also averages 2.4 assists per game, 1.4 steals per game, and on the season shoots 51% from the field, and 47.2% from beyond the arc.