WICHITA, Kan. — The Newman men's basketball team will welcome in the new year with a Heartland Conference matchup against St. Mary's at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, looking to get in the win column in league play.

SCOUTING NEWMAN

The Jets (7-3, 0-2 Heartland) dropped two close games to begin Heartland Conference play, but still scored with the best of them. A 90-point showing against St. Edward's and 97 — including 72 in the second half alone — against Texas-Permian Basin kept Newman's scoring average at 89.9 on the season, which is still 17th in the country.

Seven different players put up 9.6 ppg or better for the Jets, led by senior Gavin Thurman's 15.7. Classmate James Pegues puts up 15.2 on 66.7-percent shooting from the field, boosting the team's shooting percentage to 45.8 percent, and the pair lead the team in rebounding with 5.8 and 5.2 boards per game, respectively. Senior Jalen Love (11.2 ppg) and juniors Jarvis Williams (10.9) and Daniel Nwosu (10.7) make it five Jets who average double digits, with Williams and Love combining to dish out 5.7 assists as well.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT

The Rattlers (5-5, 1-1 Heartland) snapped a three-game losing streak with a 99-86 win over Oklahoma Panhandle State two weeks ago before following that with a 70-62 loss to Lubbock Christian. The offensive outburst was uncharacteristic on both sides for St. Mary's, which puts up just 64.9 points per game, while allowing 65.7, which is 18th in all of Division II.

Kriston Minor paces the Rattlers with 15.2 ppg, while Trey Hall puts up 11.1 ppg and Yanni Wetzell 9.0. The trio all pull down between 5.1 and 5.6 rpg as well. Isaiah Parros leads the team with 2.6 apg and 2.2 spg to go with 7.7 ppg and 4.7 rpg. Parros averaged 12.5 points and Wetzell 13.5 to pace the team in its first weekend of conference play, while Bryce Smith made it three straight games hitting double figures.

HISTORY LESSON

The Jets are 6-12 against the Rattlers all-time, but hold a 5-2 advantage at Fugate Gymnasium, including five straight wins at home dating back through the 2009-10 season. Newman continued that streak last season with an 86-84 win that snapped a four-game skid against St. Mary's

NOTES

-The Jets have the Rattlers number at home with the five straight wins, but four of the five came by single digits, and each of the past three were decided by three or fewer points.

-Boosted along by his 7-of-13 showing against UTPB, junior Taylor Schieber is eighth in the country and leads the Heartland Conference, connecting on 53.2 percent of his 3-point shots.

-Newman has put up at least 32 3-point attempts in three of its past five games, averaging 28.2 per game over that span and hitting 40.4 percent.

-The 99 points the Rattlers put up against OPSU was the first time they scored more than 67 points in a game this season.

COVERAGE

The game will be carried live on 1480 AM (KQAM) in Wichita, with live video, audio and statistics available at www.newmanjets.com.