WICHITA, Kan. — Newman scored the last six points of the game over the final two minutes to secure a thrilling 78-76 Heartland Conference victory over Texas A&M International Saturday afternoon at Fugate Gymnasium.
KEY SEQUENCE
Senior Jalen Love, who scored all of his seven points in the second half for the Jets (9-3, 2-2 Heartland), started the hosts' final possession with the ball at the top of the key, spun around one defender and pulled up from 12 feet to sink what proved to be the game-winning shot to sink the Dustdevils (8-4, 3-1 Heartland).
HOW IT HAPPENED
-The Jets bounced out to the first eight points of the game, with Gavin Thurman hitting two straight 3-pointers and Cortrael Colbert adding a steal and lay-in to make it 8-0 just 1:26 in.
-From Thurman's first bucket, the Jets held the lead for nearly the first 12 minutes, with the advantage only slipping to one possession late in that run.
-When the Dustdevils took the lead on a layup at the 8:15 mark of the first half, it was the first of four lead changes over the next minute and a half, and a Taylor Schieber three-point play made it 26-24 in favor of Newman with 6:39 to go.
-That started an 11-4 run that ended with two free throws from Easton Julian that made it 34-28, and a 3-pointer from Thurman and a lay-in by Jarvis Williams twice pushed the lead to eight in the waning moments of the first half.
-The fast start to the game repeated itself to open the second half, as the Jets scored 15 of the first 19 points of the frame to balloon their lead to 17 at 58-41 just four minutes in. Thurman had five of those 15 points, and Love posted four.
-That lead didn't last long though, as TAMIU scored the next 17 points to draw even as the clock ticked past the midway point of the second half. A pair of free throws from James Pagues kept Newman from falling behind.
-Two more freebies out of Colbert broke a 60-60 tie with 8:06 to play, and the Jets twice stretched the margin to six over the next two minutes, but the Dustdevils charged back, going ahead for the first time in nearly 22 minutes on a jumper and pushing the lead to three on a fastbreak layup.
-A TAMIU 3-pointer handed the guests their biggest lead of the game at 76-72 with exactly 2:00 to play, but the Jets responded with sound defense and clutch shooting to tie it and eventually take the lead.
-A Thurman jumper on the next possession pulled Newman to within two points, and the senior picked up a steal and converted two free throws on the other end to tie things up for the fourth time before Love made a missed 3-pointer by the guests hurt when he sank his game winner.
-With the Dustdevils facing just 13 seconds on the clock, Kevin Bryant played tough defense on the inbounds pass and three Jets swarmed a pass inside, with Pegues ultimately getting the block and Thurman winning the race for the loose ball to preserve the win.
NOTES
-Thurman went for 31 points, which is a season high, his sixth straight game scoring in double digits and his fifth game in his last six with at least 24 points. The senior was 10-of-14 from the field for a 71.4-percent shooting percentage, also his best of the season.
-Although 18 of his points came in the first half, Thurman scored six over the final three minutes of the game to help in the comeback, and pulled in a team-high seven rebounds for the game.
-Colbert netted 12 points and added three steals and two rebounds and was a perfect 3-for-3 from the line down the stretch as the Jets picked up their shooting percentages in the final minutes.
-The Jets attempted only 18 field goals in the second half, but made them count, hitting 11. They shot 54.8 percent from the floor for the game, their second straight game making more than they miss after accomplishing that feat just twice in their first 10 games.
-Schieber added 10 points — all in the first half as the Jets built their lead — and Love finished with seven points four rebounds, three assists, two blocks and two steals, leading the team in the last three categories.
WHAT'S NEXT
The Jets hit the road for their second conference weekend on the road, heading to Lubbock Christian Thursday for a 7:30 p.m. contest.
