WICHITA, Kan. — Getting no breaks as the conference season winds to a close, the Newman men's basketball team hits the road to face Arkansas-Fort Smith Thursday and Rogers State Saturday, two teams tied for second place in the Heartland Conference standings.

SCOUTING NEWMAN

The Jets (14-10, 7-9 Heartland) saw their three-game winning streak come to an end as they continued on their tough streak to end the regular season, falling to Dallas Baptist 88-87 Saturday afternoon. That followed wins over Oklahoma Christian, Lubbock Christian and Oklahoma Panhandle State over the first part of February. Against the Patriots, four Jets scored in double figures, led by Gavin Thurman's 19 points and seven rebounds.

                LEADERS

                Gavin Thurman, Senior-16.0 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 1.3 apg, 46.6 FG%, 37.0 3FG%

                James Pegues, Senior-12.9 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 56.0 FG%, 83.2 FT%, 46.3 3FG%

                Jalen Love, Senior-10.9 ppg, 3.0 apg, 2.9 rpg, 1.1 spg

                Cortrael Colbert, Senior-8.3 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 2.3 apg, 1.4 spg

                Jarvis Williams, Junior-11.0 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 2.3 apg, 44.5 FG%

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT

ARKANSAS-FORT SMITH

The Lions (18-6, 11-5 Heartland) have won three out of their past four after suffering a two-game losing streak for the first time all season. Those wins came over Texas A&M International, which spent much of the season in first place, as a well as a tough St. Mary's squad and Oklahoma Panhandle State. Wins over the Dustdevils and Rattlers came by just three points each, and the lone loss in that stretch, to Lubbock Christian, came by just one point.

                LEADERS

                Alex Cooper, Junior-15.2 ppg, 4.8 apg, 2.7 rpg, 1.8 spg, 43.4 3FG%

                Seth Youngblood, Junior-14.8 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 2.3 apg, 1.0 spg, 40.2 3FG%

                DaVaunta Thomas, Sophomore-13.1 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 2.6 apg, 48.8 FG%

                Dusan Stojanovic, Senior-11.3 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 1.5 apg, 61.0 FG%

                Kenny Martin, Senior-9.4 ppg, 8.1 rpg, 1.0 apg, 1.2 bpg, 59.2 FG%

ROGERS STATE

The Hillcats (19-5, 11-5 Heartland) saw a modest three-game win streak come to an end Saturday in a 99-70 loss to Lubbock Christian. RSU has still managed to win eight of their last 10 games, including comfortable wins over St. Mary's, TAMIU and OPSU before the loss to Lubbock. Four different players averaged 10 points or better last weekend, with Jordan Huffman putting up 18 and 10 points in the two games to lead the way.

                LEADERS

                J.C. Hartzler, Senior-16.3 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 1.9 apg, 86.6 FT%

                Donald Moore, Senior -16.0 ppg, 4.0 apg, 2.5 rpg, 1.4 spg, 49.5 FG%, 41.4 3FG%

                Jeylyn Sharpe, Junior -11.2 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 1.2 apg, 57.7 FG%

                Robert Johnson, Senior -10.5 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 1.5 apg, 57.9 FG%

                Corey Ayala, Senior -6.0 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 2.5 apg, 65.3 FG%

HISTORY LESSON

The Jets fell in a heartbreaker to the Lions on Jan. 23, as a last-second shot just rimmed out to let UAFS hold on for a 79-78 win. That bumped Fort Smith's advantage in the all-time series to 9-4, although each of the past five matchups have been decided by five points or fewer.

RSU has won four of five against Newman since the two became league foes. The Jets suffered a tough 81-67 loss to the Hillcats in January, as Love and Thurman combined for 51 points.

NOTES

-The Jets put up 87 points against Dallas Baptist, their best offensive output since scoring 114 against Oklahoma Panhandle State early last month. It was also the third time in four games they scored at least 82 points, and the sixth time in seven games they scored at least 76.

-Dallas Baptist's win over Oklahoma Christian Monday locked up a spot in the Heartland Conference tournament for the Jets, who currently are the seventh seed if the season ended today. Newman's four remaining games all come against other tournament qualifiers.

-The Lions work at an efficient clip, as they lead the conference and are eighth in the nation with a 50.4 field goal percentage. Their 40.6-percent 3-point shooting is also first in the lead and 16th in the country.

-RSU, which started the season undefeated through nonconference play, is fourth in a high-scoring league in points, averaging 84.4, but they allow only 68.6. The Hillcats are the only team in the conference to find themselves in the top four in both categories.

COVERAGE

Live video and statistics for both Thursday's and Saturday's games will be available at www.newmanjets.com.