Men's Basketball | 2/26/2015 11:08:00 AM
ODESSA, Texas – The Newman men's basketball team plays at Texas-Permian Basin tonight (Feb. 26) at 7:30 p.m. inside the Falcon Dome. With a win, the Jets would be tied with UTPB in the standings and own the tiebreaker. Depending on results in other games, NU could climb as high as a tie for second in the tournament standings.
The Jets are currently 10-8 in the Heartland Conference after going 2-0 last week against UA Fort Smith and Rogers State. NU looks to continue their winning streak tonight; however, the Jets have lost two-straight road games, including a close 90-86 overtime loss in their last road contest. On the season, NU is only 2-7 on the road.
Senior
Jeremy Espinoza was named the Heartland Conference Player of the Week on Monday (Feb. 23). He totaled back-to-back 20 point games, including a career-high 28 points in an 81-72 win over Rogers State on Saturday (Feb. 21). The senior forward added seven rebounds and one steal. Espinoza scored 20 points in a 90-88 victory over UAFS on Thursday (Feb. 19).
Cortrael Colbert made a layup with seconds left to push the Jets to the win. Colbert totaled consecutive double-doubles with 24 points and 10 assists against UAFS and then 10 points and 10 assists against RSU.
For the season,
Reggie Baker leads the team in scoring at 20.5 points per game. Espinoza adds 15.0 points and a team-high 6.0 rebounds per game. Colbert tallies 13.1 points and a conference-high 5.4 assists per game.
James Pegues scores 11.6 points, and
Ryan McCarthy totals 11.0 points per game.
The Falcons are currently 11-7 in the conference and 16-10 overall. UTPB has lost two of their last three games, including an 81-75 loss to Lubbock Christian on Saturday (Feb. 21) in Lubbock, Texas. The Falcons have won four of their last five home contests. The only loss was against conference-leading St. Mary's, 89-84, on Feb. 14. For the season, UTPB is 7-3 at home.
UTPB's leading scoring is Chris Griffin at 15.5 points per game. Codye Hatcher is second on the team at 14.2 points per game. Guard Phadarius Taylor adds 12.9 points, and Madison Turner scores 12.4 points per game.
The game features two of the top three offenses in the Heartland Conference. UTPB scores a conference-high 85.2 points per game, and the Jets are third at 82.5 points per game. In the first meeting between the two teams, NU won a high scoring 101-91 game at Fugate Gymnasium on Dec. 20, 2014. The Jets held a 21 point advantage at halftime and held on for the win. The Falcons scored 66 points in the second half.
After tonight's game, the Jets travel to St. Edward's on Saturday (Feb. 28) for a 3 p.m. contest.
