WICHITA, Kan. — Looking to snap a short losing skid as the second half of the Heartland Conference schedule gets underway, the Newman men's basketball team makes its longest roadtrip of the year, beginning with a 7:30 p.m. contest at Texas A&M International Thursday.
SCOUTING NEWMAN
The Jets (11-7, 4-6 Heartland) are in the midst of a tough stretch against the top four teams in the conference, and have suffered their first three-game losing streak this season facing the first three. An 81-67 loss to Rogers State last Thursday was followed by a heartbreaking 79-78 setback against Arkansas-Fort Smith Saturday afternoon in which the game-winning shot just rimmed out in the final seconds. Jalen Love put up a career-high 30 points against the Hillcats, and followed with 15 points and five assists against the Lions.
LEADERS
Gavin Thurman, Senior-16.8 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 1.6 apg, 48.5 FG%, 37.2 3FG%
James Pegues, Senior-12.9 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 59.7 FG%, 82.6 FT%, 41.9 3FG%
Jalen Love, Senior-11.3 ppg, 3.1 apg, 2.8 rpg, 1.0 spg
Jarvis Williams, Junior-11.0 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 2.4 apg, 44.1 FG%
Cortrael Colbert, Senior-8.3 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 2.0 apg, 1.6 spg
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
The Dustdevils (13-5, 8-2 Heartland) saw their five-game winning streak that vaulted them to alone at the top of the Heartland standings come to an end at the hands Of Dallas Baptist Monday. In the 71-62 loss, TAMIU got to within four at multiple times in the second half, but couldn't pull it to within one possession. Jordan VanDeKop led the Dustdevils with 19 points and seven rebounds, going 7-of-10 from the field and adding two steals. Arkeem Joseph and Anthony Alston each put up 11 points and combined for eight boards and three assists.
LEADERS
Arkeem Joseph-14.4 ppg, 7.1 rpg, 1.3 apg, 57.2 FG%
Jordan VanDeKop-14.0 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 2.3 apg, 54.5 FG%
Anthony Alston-12.7 ppg, 3.7 apg, 2.3 rpg, 1.7 spg, 83.1 FT%
Deonnte Breedlove-11.9 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 2.6 apg, 1.4 spg, 48.2 FG%, 41.8 3FG%
Arthur Santanna-3.1 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 1.2 apg, 41.8 FG%
HISTORY LESSON
The Jets took the lead in the series against the Dustdevils with their 78-76 victory on Jan. 2, going up 9-8 since Newman moved to Division II. The win, which kept the Jets a perfect 8-0 at home against TAMIU, was their second in a row dating back to last year, and saw Thurman go for 31 points and seven rebounds to lead the way.
NOTES
-Including the Dustdevils, the Jets' last four opponents are all bunched within a game at the top of the Heartland standings. With DBU's win over TAMIU Monday, those two schools and UAFS are tied for first at 8-2 in the conference, with Rogers State a game behind at 7-3.
-Love has found his scoring touch over the past few weeks, besting his average in four of the past five games and averaging 14.6 ppg over that span. Over the last three games, which all came against top teams, the senior has put up 18.7 ppg and 4.0 apg, all while shooting 20-of-39, or 51.3 percent from the field.
-After being held to nine points by DBU, Thurman was back to his normal offensive ways over the weekend, putting up 21 and 19 points against RSU and UAFS. That helped bump his scoring in conference games to 18.8 ppg, which is third in the league.
-The Jets' turnover margin of plus-3.7 per game is third in the conference and 26th in the country. Newman has significantly cut back on its turnovers over the past five games, giving it away an average of just 8.8 times compared to 14.8 for its opponents over that span.
-Newman scored the second-most points in a game against the Dustdevils this year in their first meeting, but TAMIU still boasts one of the nation's top defenses. The Dustdevils are ninth in the country in scoring defense (64.6 ppg), 25th in field goal defense (40.4%) and 14th in 3-point field goal defense (30.0%).
COVERAGE
Live video and statistics from Thursday's 7:30 p.m. tipoff from Laredo, Texas will be available at www.newmanjets.com.
