WICHITA – The Newman men's basketball team defeated Dallas Baptist, 88-75, on Monday (Jan. 19) at Fugate Gymnasium. The victory moved NU to fifth in the conference with a 4-4 record and 8-6 overall. Reggie Baker had a record setting performance of 24 points and 17 rebounds, a Newman NCAA Division II school record.
 
The Jets scored the first six points to take command of the game early. Jeremy Espinoza scored the first basket in the first 16 seconds for a 2-0 lead, and Baker put in a layup at the 18:46 mark. James Pegues made it 6-0 with a layup with 17:52 remaining in the first half. The Patriots were forced to take an early timeout after falling behind quickly.
 
DBU used an 11-3 run to gain their only lead of the game at 11-9 with 15 minutes remaining in the half. Junior Cortrael Colbert knocked down a 3 for NU to erase DBU's only advantage of the game. Ryan McCarthy made it two straight NU 3s, increasing the lead to 15-11 at the 14:45 mark. The two 3s started a 12-0 run for the Jets. Luka Vermezovic hit a hook shot in the paint for a 17-11 score, and two Pegues free throws put the Jets up 19-11 with 13:11 remaining. A Baker jumper capped the run for a 21-11 advantage with 12:24 left in the half.
 
With the Jets in front by nine at 28-19, the Patriots used three straight 3 balls to tie the score at 28-28. DBU hit three 3s in less than 1 minute for the tied score with 7 minutes left in the half.
 
A quick 6-0 run by NU allowed them to regain the lead. After a Baker layup, Espinoza scored back-to-back layups for a 34-28 NU edge with 3:47 remaining before halftime. The Jets had a 41-33 advantage at the half.
 
NU led for the whole second half. DBU got as close as four points at 51-47 with 13:03 left, but they couldn't get any closer in the second stanza. The Jets pushed the margin to as large as 13 points multiple times, including the final score of 88-75.
 
Baker, a junior from Avon Park, Fla., totaled a double-double of 24 points and 17 rebounds. Fourteen of those rebounds came in the second half. The 17 rebounds are a Newman NCAA Division II school record. The previous record was 15 set by Ryan Bradley on Nov. 25, 2008 and matched by Jaray Mathews twice on Feb. 19, 2009 and Jan. 30, 2010.
 
Four Jets hit double figures. Pegues totaled 18 points and seven rebounds; Espinoza tallied 16 points and eight rebounds. McCarthy added 10 points, and Colbert finished with nine points.
 
NU shot 45.3 percent (29-64) from the field. They went 76.7 percent (23-30) from the free throw line. The Jets held a 44-38 edge in rebounding. NU only committed 10 turnovers in the game.
 
The defense held DBU to 35.9 percent (23-64) from the field. The Patriots hit 10 3s, shooting 33.3 percent (10-30) from long distance.
 
Myles Johnson, who averaged 19.7 points per game coming into today, scored only eight points on 2-of-11 shooting. He and Jonathan Perry both fouled out of the game. Perry was limited to 15 minutes due to the foul trouble. Amari Bryant scored a team-high 17 points off the bench.
 
The Jets are not tied for fifth place with DBU, Rogers State and UA Fort Smith at 4-4 in league play. St. Edward's and Texas-Permian Basin lead the league with 6-2 records. Lubbock Christian is third at 5-2, and St Mary's is fourth with a 5-3 record. LCU and Rogers State are not eligible for postseason play.
 
NU travels to both RSU and UAFS this week. The Jets take on UAFS on Thursday (Jan. 22) at 7:30 p.m. in Fort Smith, Ark. NU goes to RSU on Saturday (Jan. 24) for a 3 p.m. game in Claremore, Okla.