WICHITA – The Newman men's basketball team rolled to a 95-77 victory over Oklahoma Panhandle State on Saturday (Jan. 10) at Fugate Gymnasium. The Jets shot 55.9 percent (38-68) from the field and 40 percent (10-25) from 3. NU moved to 6-6 and 2-4 in the Heartland Conference.
                            
The 55.9 percent shooting is a season high. The 40 percent shooting from 3 is the second-best performance from long distance behind the 52.6 percent (20-38) night against Manhattan Christian.
 
NU scored the first nine points of the game, as James Pegues made three layups in the first 3 minutes. Jeremy Espinoza hit a 3-pointer during the 9-0 spurt to start. The Jets controlled the game for the rest of the way, never trailing, and pushing the margin to as many as 25 points.
 
Luka Vermezovic totaled a game-high of 18 points and nine rebounds, both career high for the freshman. The Belgrade, Serbia native went 7-of-8 from the field and scored 16 points in the first half. He added seven first-half rebounds. Vermezovic blocked two shots and tallied two assists.
 
Five Jets finished in double figures, including four of the NU big men. Espinoza totaled 16 points and seven rebounds. The senior forward shot 4-for-4 from 3 and went 6-of-7 from the field. Pegues totaled 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting, and reserve forward Julian Easton finished with 12 points, a career high, on 5-of-6 shooting. The four NU forwards went 24-of-29 from the field for 82.8 percent.
 
Junior point guard Cortrael Colbert tallied a double-double of 11 points and 11 assists. He went 5-of-6 from the field and 1-for-1 from 3. A total of 11 Jets played with all 11 scoring.
 
The Jets held a 42-30 advantage in points in the paint. NU totaled 14 second chance points, and the Jet bench scored 46 points compared to 26 bench points from OPSU.
 
NU dominated on the boards, totaling a 47-33 advantage. The Jets finished with 13 offensive rebounds, five of which coming from Espinoza.
 
The Jets had 29 assists on 38 made baskets. Colbert totaled a game-high and career-high 11 assists. Ten Jets finished with assists in the game.
 
NU's defense held OPSU to 39.1 percent (25-64) from the field. The Aggies shot 28.6 percent from 3 (8-28), including 9.1 percent (1-11) in the second half.
 
The Jets return to action on Thursday (Jan. 15) at Oklahoma Christian. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. in Oklahoma City, Okla.