The Joplin Globe, Joplin, MO

Pittsburg State Sports

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November 17, 2012

Porter's 34 points propel Gorillas past Lincoln

By Jim Henry Globe Sports Editor

Pittsburg State coach Kevin Muff wasn’t concerned that his point guard had only one assist in 37 minutes.

“If he scores 34, that’s all right,” Muff said with a laugh..

Kaleb Porter, 5-foot-11 freshman from Tulsa, poured in 34 points as the Gorillas rallied in the second half to beat Lincoln 86-78 Friday afternoon in the Freeman Sports Medicine/Chris Tucker Memorial Classic at Missouri Southern.

Porter hit 11-of-17 from the floor, 5-of-6 from beyond the arc and 7-of-8 free throws. He tallied 20 points in the second half and finished with what is believed to be a school record by a freshman.

“He’s probably a better off-guard than he is a point because he does shoot so well,” Muff said. “We knew he could shoot it. He’s a very hard player to guard because he can turn the corner and get in the paint. He can knock down the 3. You can’t leave him alone.

“He’s one of those kids who makes everybody around him better. Obviously he needs to learn to run facilitate our offense a little bit more, but we needed him to do what he did today. And I’ll give him credit for stepping up and putting us on his shoulders offensively.”

JaVon McGee and Marky Nolen contributed 14 and 12 points, respectively, for the Gorillas (2-0). McGee also snared 12 rebounds as PSU dominated the boards 50-30.

Guard Cedric Ridle and forward Charles Cole scored 18 points apiece for Lincoln (1-3), followed by Montez Fifer with 15 and Sean Harris with 11 points and eight rebounds.

Lincoln led 45-41 after hitting 53 percent from the field, but the Blue Tigers cooled to 37 percent in the second half. Lincoln was 8-of-13 from long range in the first half, then 2-of-8 in the last 20 minutes.

The Gorillas play Avila at 5 p.m. today.

 

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