WICHITA, Kan. — Wrapping up its first roadtrip of 2016 before coming back home for three straight, the Newman men's basketball team heads to Oklahoma Panhandle State Saturday afternoon for a 3 p.m. Heartland Conference contest.
SCOUTING NEWMAN
The Jets (9-4, 2-3 Heartland) saw their two-game winning streak to get back to .500 in conference play snapped at the hands of a tough Lubbock Christian team Thursday evening, falling 73-66 in Texas. Junior Jarvis Williams led Newman with 16 points on 6-of-12 shooting, adding two assists. Three others — seniors Gavin Thurman, Cortrael Colbert and James Pegues — all added double-digit scoring efforts as well, but the Jets couldn't come up with another run after falling behind in the second half.
LEADERS
Gavin Thurman, Senior-17.2 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 0.9 bpg, 49.7 FG%
James Pegues, Senior-14.2 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 65.1 FG%, 83.6 FT%
Jarvis Williams, Junior-10.9 ppg, 2.5 apg, 2.3 rpg
Jalen Love, Senior-10.0 ppg, 3.0 apg, 3.2 rpg, 1.0 spg
Cortrael Colbert, 9.6 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 2.2 apg, 1.8 spg
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
The Aggies (8-5, 1-4 Heartland) have won two straight after dropping four in a row as conference season began. The latest was an 83-72 victory over Oklahoma Christian Thursday evening, as five different players netted at least 11 points and the team shot 52.7 percent from the floor. Zoran Arsenovic led the way with 20 points, eight rebounds and four steals, while Melvin Mitchell and Antonio Manns, Jr. each posted 15 points.
LEADERS
Antonio Manns, Jr., Senior-20.4 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 85.0 FT%
Zoran Arsenovic, Senior-13.0 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 2.4 spg
Melvin Mitchell, Junior-12.0 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 2.2 apg, 2.0 spg, 37.5 3FG%
Marquavius Williams, Senior-8.9 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 2.1 apg, 51.3 FG%
Dedrick Shannon, Jr., Freshman-6.8 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 5.2 apg, 2.1 spg
HISTORY LESSON
The Jets have had OPSU's number throughout the series, holding a 14-2 advantage in the Division II era. Newman is on a nine-game winning streak against the Aggies dating back nearly five years, and has not lost to its Oklahoma neighbor in regulation, with the two losses both coming in overtime.
NOTES
-Thurman's 12-point effort kept his streak of double-digit scoring games going, which is now at seven straight. It did snap a two-game run of scoring 20-plus, although the senior is still averaging 23.3 ppg over his last seven, and is putting up 21.8 ppg in conference play.
-After a rough patch to start the conference season, the Newman defense has been finding its stride, allowing just 72.3 ppg over its last three games, 7.3 less than its season average. Along with that, opposing teams have shot just 41.2 percent from the field, 31.4 percent from 3-point range, and have committed 15.0 turnovers per game over that span.
-Heartland Conference teams continue to score points in bunches, with the 11 men's teams averaging 82.87 points per game overall. That is the third highest out of the 24 Division II conferences. Newman is 32nd in the country but just fourth in the conference, putting up 87.0 ppg, while OPSU is 71st and sixth, respectively, averaging 83.0.
-The Aggies defense is one of the best in the country at disrupting opposing offenses, coming into the game No. 1 in Division II averaging 12.1 steals per game. They're second with 20.62 forced turnovers per game, and only three opponents have given the ball away fewer than 15 times.
-OPSU also gets to the free throw line with regularity, with 301 made free throws putting its fifth in the nation and 407 attempts slotting it 11th.
COVERAGE
Live statistics for the game will be available at www.newmanjets.com.
