WICHITA, Kan. — Officially back on a win streak after dispatching a pair of conference opponents last weekend, the Newman men's basketball team heads back on the road to continue Heartland Conference play in a 7:30 p.m. contest at Lubbock Christian Thursday.
SCOUTING NEWMAN
The Jets (9-3, 2-2 Heartland) ripped off two nice wins last weekend, scoring the first 12 points of the second half to turn the tables on St. Mary's in an 88-68 victory Thursday and coming down to the wire with some last-second heroics and getting a defensive stop to top Texas A&M International 78-76 Saturday. Senior Gavin Thurman continued his impressive streak of late, putting up 55 points and 15 rebounds combined over the two games.
With Newman still averaging 88.8 points per game as a team, it's not surprising to find Thurman near the top of the scoring list in the conference at fourth with his 17.7 ppg. That average shoots up to 24.3 ppg in conference games, which leads the league, and he leads the team with both 6.1 rpg and and 11 total blocks. Senior James Pegues is second on the team and 13th in the conference with 14.5 ppg, chipping in with 4.6 rpg and 10 steals. Juniors Jarvis Williams (10.5 ppg, 2.6 apg), and Daniel Nwosu (10.3 ppg, 2.5 rpg) and senior Jalen Love (10.1 ppg, 3.2 apg, 3.2 rpg) all add double-figure scoring averages, and senior Cortrael Colbert adds 9.5 ppg and 1.9 spg.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
The Chaparrals (8-4, 2-2 Heartland) started the season off strong, going 6-2 with a pair of tough losses, including in overtime to current No. 4 Angelo State. Conference season began with a 12-point loss to Texas A&M International before wins over St. Mary's and Oklahoma Panhandle State, and LCU started off the new year with a 93-67 loss at the hands of Dallas Baptist.
A.J. Luckey leads the Chaps with 14.6 ppg, scoring in double figures all but two games so far this season, adding 4.3 rpg and 2.6 apg, and Tyler Rogers puts up 12.4 ppg and 3.8 rpg. Isaac Cardona and Marcus Arrington add 9.4 and 9.3 ppg respectively, with Cardona putting up 5.0 rpg and Arrington leading the team with 5.0 apg. Matthew Alford is one of just two players to start all 12 games on the season, and leads the team with 5.3 rpg.
HISTORY LESSON
These two teams have met only three times since Newman moved to Division II, with the Jets taking the first Heartland Conference meeting between the two during the 2013-14 season, 76-74. The Chaparrals swept the season series a year ago to take a 2-1 advantage all-time.
NOTES
-Thurman has bumped his scoring average up by 7.5 points over the last six games, in which he's averaged 25.2 ppg. He's also shot 54-of-95 from the field over that stretch, or 56.8 percent.
-The Jets are one of just three squads in the Heartland to feature five players averaging double digits in points this deep into the season, and are the only one of those three to also have two players (Taylor Schieber at 9.6 ppg and Colbert at 9.5) averaging 9.0 ppg or better.
-LCU outrebounds its opponents by 4.3 a game despite not having a player in the top 16 of the conference on the glass individually. Six different players average between 3.8 and 5.3 rpg for the Chaps.
COVERAGE
Live video, audio and statistics for the game will be available at www.newmanjets.com.
