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BASKETBALL: PSU men open the season with win; Gorilla women fall in opener

EDMOND, Okla. — Pittsburg State men’s basketball opened the season with a win after getting a game-high 23 points from Quentin Hardrict Jr. in a 77-66 win over Central Oklahoma on Saturday.

Hardrict was 6-of-9 shooting from the floor, including three 3-pointers, to lead the Gorillas (1-0, 1-0 MIAA) over the Bronchos (0-2, 0-2 MIAA) on the road. He was a perfect 8-for-8 from the free-throw line.

Pittsburg State and Central Oklahoma were separated by just three points by the break before the Gorillas shot 54.2 percent from the floor in the second half to earn the win. Seven Gorillas finished with at least one assist in the win, but Ike Moore finished with a team-high two assists.

PSU’s Ryan Pippins scored 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting, also knocking down a trio of 3-pointers for the Gorillas. Bobby Arthur-Williams Jr. finished in double figures with 13 points on 5-of-10 shooting. Arthur-Williams and Zach Burch each added six rebounds for the Gorillas.

Central Oklahoma shot just 35.4 percent from the field in the game, and was led in scoring by Justin Nimmer, who finished with 15 points. Isaiah Wade added 14 in the loss.

Pittsburg State returns to action Tuesday when the Gorillas travel to Wichita, Kansas, to take on MIAA rival Newman.

PSU WOMEN FALL SHORT IN OPENER

EDMOND, Okla. — The Pittsburg State women’s basketball team was outscored 27-10 in the game-deciding third quarter, as the Gorillas fell 80-50 in the season opener against Central Oklahoma on Saturday at Hamilton Field House.

Second-year standout Kaylee DaMitz scored a team-leading 22 points for the Gorillas (0-1, 0-1 MIAA) in their season debut. Maya Williams, a Carthage product, added nine points and Tristan Gegg finished with seven points.

Pittsburg State shot 23.5 percent from the field in the contest, making 16-of-68 shots from the floor. The Gorillas were just two-of-18 from 3-point range.

UCO (2-0, 2-0 MIAA) got a game-high 26 points from Kelsey Johnson.

The Gorillas return to action Tuesday when they travel to Wichita, Kansas, to take on Newman.

Missouri Southern men win at Newman, women fall short

WICHITA, Kan. The trio of Kyle Younge, Cam Martin and Stan Scott combined to score 63 points as the Missouri Southern men’s basketball team defeated Newman 82-79 on Saturday in MIAA action inside Fugate Gymnasium.

No. 21 Southern improved to 2-0.

Young scored a career-high 23 points on 9-of-15 shooting, including 5-of-8 on 3-pointers, to lead the Lions. Martin added 21 points on 8-of-17 shooting. Martin also grabbed 11 rebounds and handed out seven assists on the day he surpassed 1,500 points scored at MSSU. Scott contributed a career-high 19 points on 8-of-12 shooting. 

The Lions, who led 43-27 at halftime, made 32-of-66 field goal attempts (48.5 percent). Southern hit 11 treys and out-rebounded the Jets 43-34.

Branden Bunn led Newman (0-1) with 23 points. The Jets shot 43 percent (28-of-65), including 14-of-33 from long distance. 

The Lions led by 21 with 19:20 remaining in the contest, but the Jets put together a furious comeback attempt. 

Newman pulled within two with 39 seconds left. But Christian Bundy hit one free throw with 18 seconds remaining, stopping a 10-0 Newman run. The Jets misfired on a 3-pointer just before the buzzer. 

Southern returns to action on Tuesday night at Central Missouri. 

NEWMAN WOMEN, 55-51

For the second straight outing, the Missouri Southern women suffered a close setback, as Newman held on late for a 55-51 win over the Lions. 

The game was deadlocked with just over a minute to play when Southern’s Amaya Johns hit two go-ahead free throws to give the Lions a 51-49 lead. 

Newman’s Brooke Haney hit a 3-pointer with 44 seconds left before the visitors turned the ball over with 14 seconds remaining. 

In the final seconds, Newman made three late free throws while the Lions misfired a pair of jumpers from beyond the arc. 

Johns scored a team-high 13 points for Southern, while Madi Stokes and Kaitlin Hunnicutt added 10 points apiece. Carley Turnbull scored nine. Stokes had eight rebounds and two blocked shots. 

Southern made 18-of-54 field goal attempts (33 percent), including 4-of-18 3-point attempts. 

Newman won the game despite shooting 28 percent from the field (16-of-57). The Jets (1-0) made 6-of-22 treys and 17-of-22 free throws. 

Rylee Meloy and Haney scored 10 points apiece for Newman. Neosho product Makayla Hayes added seven points. 

The Lions led 9-7 at the end of the first period and 26-16 at halftime. Southern’s lead was down to two, 40-38, at the end of the third quarter. 

Southern (0-2) is at Central Missouri at 5:30 on Tuesday night.

FOOTBALL: Pittsburg State closes season with win over West Texas A&M

CANYON, Texas — Pittsburg State built a 28-21 lead by the intermission and outscored West Texas A&M 14-7 in the second half to close out its abbreviated 2020 season with a 42-28 win on Saturday.

Pittsburg State closes the 2020 season with a 2-2 record, earning wins over Missouri Western and West Texas A&M and taking losses to Nebraska-Kearney and Stephen F. Austin. 

The Gorillas gained 519 yards of total offense in a balanced attack, passing for 271 and rushing for 248. Pittsburg State won the time-of-possession battle 32:23 to 27:37 and scored on all four red zone opportunities. PSU converted on 7-of-11 third-down attempts and were 3-for-3 on fourth downs. 

Quarterback Mak Sexton completed 21-of-30 passes for 271 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. Running back Tyler Adkins rushed 15 times for 105 yards and two touchdowns, while Tucker Horak added 69 rushing yards and Drew Winn 52 rushing yards. Bryce Murphy, a Neosho product, led Pittsburg State with eight receptions and a team-high 137 receiving yards and a touchdown. Jalen Martin added six receptions for 70 yards and Dylan White, a Pittsburg High School graduate, caught four passes for 46 yards and a score.

West Texas A&M ran for 285 and passed for 215 with running back Khalil Harris leading the way on the ground with 22 carries for 133 yards. Prince Ugwu and Jordan Johnson added rushing scores. Quarterback Nick Gerber completed 16-of-25 passes for 215 yards, two touchdowns and an interception, while rushing six times for 66 yards. Kenneath Redd and Maxwell Perez each caught touchdowns.

Pittsburg State jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter after Sexton scored from a yard out to open the game with a six-play, 70-yard touchdown drive. Kaden Roy, a Webb City product, scooped up a fumble and returned it 48 yards to the house less than two minutes later to give PSU a two-score advantage.

Redd halted in a 15-yard touchdown from Gerber to trim the margin to one score before a 1-yard rushing score by Adkins put the Gorillas on top 21-14 with 7:59 left in the first half.

West Texas A&M scored on a 3-yard rush from Johnson, but again Pittsburg State answered with 2:06 left in the half after Sexton hit White for a 17-yard passing score to send the Gorillas into the intermission with a 28-21 advantage.

Adkins added a 13-yard rushing score with 10 minutes left in the third to give the Gorillas the momentum for good. Murphy found the end zone on a 31-yard pass from Sexton at the start of the fourth quarter.