Collegio Online

Issue date: 11/8/07 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Jamie Arthur/Collegio Bypassing Kansas forward Darrell Arthur, Pittsburg State senior post Cory Abercrombie jumps for a layup in the second half of the Gorillas' exhibition game against the Jayhawks last Thursday night at Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence. Abercrombie led the Gorillas with 14 points.

LAWRENCE - It's hard enough to defeat the No.4 NCAA team in the nation, but committing 29 turnovers surely doesn't help.
In Pittsburg State's annual exhibition match-up with powerhouse University of Kansas, it was the Jayhawks' ball-hawking defense that plagued the Gorillas.
The Gorillas were backed into an 11-2 deficit early in the first half, following a pair of three-pointers from junior Mario Chalmers and senior Russell Robinson, pacing the Jayhawks for the remainder of the first half.
Chalmers continued his surge by finishing the first half four of five on 3-pointers, and sinking home 14 points in only 13 minutes of action.
Junior guard Carlos Taylor kicked things off for the Gorillas in the second half by draining a 3-point trey beyond the arc, but the Gorillas found an unscathed Jayhawks team as the opposition.
KU used a 16-6 run directly out of halftime to propel itself forward and ultimately to the 94-59 finish.
Senior forward Cory Abercrombie totaled a game-high 14 points, scoring 10 of them in the second half, and grabbed a team-high six rebounds. The Piedmont, S.C., native, finished shooting 54 percent from the floor by going six of 11 on the night, before fouling out late in the second half.
Junior Carlos Taylor and senior Nathan Lang finished with 10 and eight points respectively, while Lang pulled down six rebounds in his 25 minutes of play.
KU relied heavily on its three-guard combo of Chalmers, sophomore Sherron Collins and senior Roderick Stewart for the predominant amount of their offense. They combined for 43 total points en route to the victory.
PSU head coach Gene Iba says his team played hard, but clearly made mistakes throughout the game.
"I thought we played pretty hard and that is something you have to look for at the beginning of the season. Obviously we made an awful lot of mistakes, but they are an extremely talented basketball team," said Iba. "There is no question we had problems with their pressure defense."
Iba says that the difference in ability was apparent, but there are some slight changes needed.
"What our kids need to understand when you try to rebound against this kind of talent that you can't just go up and try to get the rebound, but you have to also prevent them from getting it by blocking out," said Iba. "If we don't block out, we may get our hands on the ball, but they will take it away from us because they are bigger and stronger."
Kansas head coach Bill Self says that while Pitt State played hard, there is an eerie resemblance to one another.
"One thing that hurt them was 44 (Abercrombie) getting into foul trouble, because he's a good player," said Iba. "But I think they are going to be fine. They are just like us, trying to find the way."
PSU faces Wichita State University at 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 8, in Wichita.

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