WICHITA, Kan. — With a spot in the Heartland Conference postseason locked up, the Newman men's basketball team will look to boost its seed and wrap up the regular season on a strong note in an exciting weekend of basketball at Fugate Gymnasium.

With Homecoming festivities slated for Thursday surrounding the game against Texas-Permian Basin and Senior Day taking place Saturday against St. Edward's, free food, t-shirts and games will highlight an excellent game atmosphere.

SCOUTING NEWMAN

The Jets (14-12, 7-11 Heartland) took a pair of losses on one of their toughest road swings of the season last weekend, falling to Arkansas-Fort Smith 86-80 on Thursday and 94-78 to Rogers State Saturday. Those two squads are currently tied for second place in the conference, and still both have a shot to claim an outright conference title. James Pegues found his scoring groove against the two sides, putting up 24 points against the Lions and going for a career-high 29 against the Hillcats.

                LEADERS

                Gavin Thurman, Senior-15.5 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 1.3 apg, 46.2 FG%, 37.0 3FG%

                James Pegues, Senior-13.9 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 57.0 FG%, 83.6 FT%, 45.8 3FG%

                Jalen Love, Senior-10.8 ppg, 3.2 apg, 2.8 rpg, 1.0 spg

                Cortrael Colbert, Senior-8.0 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 2.2 apg, 1.3 spg

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

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS

TEXAS-PERMIAN BASIN

The Falcons (14-12, 9-9 Heartland) have won three straight and six of their past nine to climb back up the conference standings. They're coming off a nice 85-84 win over Lubbock Christian Saturday, and earned wins of 20 and 14 over Oklahoma Panhandle State and St. Mary's before that. Johnnie Lacy averaged 22 points and five rebounds over the past weekend, and Gary Akbar turned in back-to-back double-doubles in the wins.

                LEADERS

                Johnnie Lacy, Junior-18.4 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 2.3 apg, 1.2 apg, 88.0 FT%

                Codye Hatcher, Senior-14.8 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 1.0 apg, 2.4 bpg, 63.9 FG%

                Gary Akbar, Senior-14.2 ppg, 8.2 rpg, 2.6 apg, 1.7 spg, 56.5 FG%

                Sam Stirgus, Junior-9.3 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 1.6 apg, 41.0 3FG%

                Anthony Knight, Junior-6.1 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 1.0 apg, 1.4 spg, 46.3 FG%

ST. EDWARD'S

The Hilltoppers (17-9, 10-8 Heartland) have won two of their past three to stay in the hunt for a middle seed in the conference field. Those wins include a 22-point victory over OPSU and an impressive 72-64 win over Texas A&M International on the road Feb. 13. SEU put five players into double figures in a loss to Lubbock Christian last week, with four reaching the mark against the Aggies. Quinton Lilley averaged 15 points, five rebounds and four assists.

                LEADERS

                Ramir Burton, Junior-14.7 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 2.0 apg, 48.0 FG%

                Frankie Mgbolu, Senior-12.6 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 2.4 apg, 1.9 spg, 53.0 FG%

                John Gramlich, Junior-11.4 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 2.6 apg, 1.3 spg, 85.3 FT%

                Quinton Lilley, Senior-8.7 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 1.5 apg, 52.0 FG%

                Trey Lindsey, Senior-8.3 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 1.0 spg, 50.3 FG%

HISTORY LESSON

The Jets recorded a comeback attempt for the ages in the first meeting against the Falcons, scoring 72 points in the second half to cut into the lead before ultimately falling 106-97. It was Newman's first loss after recording four straight wins in the series against UTPB. The Jets have only lost once to the Falcons at home, and not since 2008.

The Hilltoppers and the Jets opened the conference season back on Dec. 17, with St. Edward's earning a 97-90 victory in Austin, Texas. That was the sixth straight win for SEU, although five of those have been decided by single digits.

NOTES

-With only two games remaining for every team in the Heartland, much is still up for grabs. While the Jets will likely finish with the seventh seed for the conference tournament, there's an outside chance they could end up sixth — by winning out — or eighth.

-UTPB brings with it the top scoring offense in a conference full of high-scoring teams. The only team to hit 100 points in a game against the Jets this year averages 86.3 per game, which is 22nd in the country.

-While the Hilltoppers are middle of the pack in both scoring offense and defense, they help create a gap in opportunities through protecting the ball and forcing opponents into turnovers. They lead the nation in turnover margin, at plus-6.5 per game, and force 17.6 turnovers per game.

COVERAGE

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