WICHITA, Kan. — Facing off against the top team in the conference, the Newman men's basketball team gave Dallas Baptist all it could handle in an exciting game before ultimately falling 88-87 when a last-second 3-pointer didn't fall.
KEY SEQUENCE
The Jets (14-10, 7-9 Heartland) took their first lead in nearly seven minutes when Gavin Thurman converted the free throw on a three-point play to make it 81-80 with just under two minutes to play, but the Patriots (18-5, 12-3 Heartland) hit a 3-pointer their next time down the court and followed with a layup on the next possession to jump back in front by four. Newman would twice cut the lead to one, but never went back in front.
HOW IT HAPPENED
-Both teams came out hot, with the Jets taking a 14-13 lead on a Jalen Love pull-up 3-pointer before the first media timeout of the game. It was one of five lead changes in the first four-plus minutes of the game.
-Another pull-up 3 from Love almost three minutes later gave the hosts another lead, this time at 19-17, but a 13-4 run by the Patriots helped push them out to their largest lead of the first half at seven points.
-The guests held the lead for nearly 11 straight minutes, twice more pushing the advantage to seven before the Jets ran off a 10-2 run over three minutes to take the lead back momentarily. A Thurman jumper started the stretch, Love converted a fastbreak layup and the Jets hit 6-of-7 free throws in less than a minute to make it 43-42.
-Two wild swings in the first eight minutes of the second half pushed DBU to an eight-point lead at two different points, and allowed Newman to climb right back in it. Trailing 55-47, the Jets reeled off 14 of the next 18 points. A Kevin Bryant layup and a Thurman 3-pointer on two straight possessions started it, and a Christian DeYoung trey tied things at 59-all.
-That started the longest stretch of the game that the Jets did not trail. Getting six points out of Daniel Nwosu — including a big four-point play after he was fouled when hitting a 3-pointer — Newman led by as much as four at 65-61 with 10:17 to play, and was either ahead or tied for five minutes.
-It was a one-possession game or tied for nearly the rest of the game, as the Jets hit five straight field goals to stick right with the Patriots. Bryant sunk a nice layup to tie things up at 77-77 with 3:43 to play, and Thurman did again at 80-80 a couple minutes later before the Jets took their final lead.
-A Jarvis Williams 3-pointer with 10.6 seconds left made it a one-point game once again, but his attempt at a tie just seconds later after two DBU free throws just rimmed out. Jalen Love tipped in the miss for two points, but the Patriots didn't get anywhere near him to eliminate the possibility of a game-tying free throw.
NOTES
-The two teams were balanced in nearly every category on the stat sheet. Newman shot 32-of-65 for the game, while DBU was 33-of-66. The Patriots won the rebounding battle 38-35, and the Jets shot 7-of-24 from deep, one more make on one fewer attempt than the Patriots. There were 12 ties and 14 lead changes throughout the game.
-The teams combined to shoot 36-of-62 (58.1 percent) in the first half. That percentage didn't drop much for either team in the second half, as both sides played a clean efficient game. Newman and DBU combined for just 14 turnovers, committing seven each, and gave the ball away just four total times in the second half.
-Four players scored in double figures for the Jets, and six totaled at least nine points. Thurman led with 19 points and seven rebounds. Cortrael Colbert added a season-high 18 points on 7-of-12 shooting, chipping in four rebounds, two assists and two of Newman's four steals.
-Love posted 13 points, five rebounds and three assists, while James Pegues put up 10 points. Jarvis Williams added nine points and two assists, with Nwosu going for nine points to go with three rebounds.
WHAT'S NEXT
The Jets make their final roadtrip of the regular season next week, heading to Arkansas-Fort Smith Thursday and Rogers State Saturday.
