WICHITA, Kan. — Withstanding a second-half charge from its opponent, the Newman men's basketball team was able to answer the challenge from Oklahoma Panhandle State Thursday evening at Fugate Gymnasium, collecting an 82-68 victory in Heartland Conference play to snap out of a five-game skid.
KEY SEQUENCE
After absorbing a strong burst from the Aggies (8-13, 1-12 Heartland) around the halftime break that saw the guests jump back in front by five, the Jets (12-9, 5-8 Heartland) shot out on a 24-8 run that covered over eight minutes. Travis Matthews led with six points during the stretch, with six different players including the junior added at least a bucket to the run, which turned a five-point deficit into a 58-47 lead with 9:32 to play.
HOW IT HAPPENED
-A 3-pointer from Gavin Thurman on the game's first possession got the scoring going for the Jets, but the Aggies answered with seven straight points in just over a minute to take their first lead of the game. The game of runs continued as Newman netted the next nine points, with James Pegues nailing a 3-pointer and later adding two free throws to make it 10-7.
-Next up for the hosts was a 7-0 run that took it from 12-8 to 19-8 with 11:28 on the clock in the first half. Thurman started with a lay-in, followed later by a deep 3-pointer out of Christian DeYoung off a feed from Jarvis Williams. Free throws from Matthews stretched that lead out to 11.
-A fastbreak layup from Williams two minutes later made it 21-11 in favor of the Jets, who would hold a single-digit lead for much of the final nine minutes of the half. Free throws from Williams with 2:19 left in the period made it a 10-point game once again, but a bucket from the Aggies just over a minute later took the game to the half with an eight-point margin.
-While removed over 20 minutes in real time from the second half, that shot started a streak for OPSU, which added the first six points after halftime and eventually built a lead to five at 39-34 just 2:25 into the half.
-A line change of sorts by Newman coach Mark Potter put four non-starters into the game at once, and the group turned things around in a hurry, starting with a layup from Daniel Nwosu, followed 40 seconds later by an Easton Julian 3-pointer on a DeYoung assist. Williams popped a 3-pointer 40 seconds after that to put the lead back in the Jets' hands.
-The Aggies would respond to take a one-point lead back on the next possession, but Matthews sank a layup to make it 44-43 with 13:58 to play, a lead the hosts would not give back the rest of the way. Big 3-pointers from DeYoung and Jalen Love over the next four minutes helped push the lead back to double digits, where it would stay for nearly all the final nine minutes.
NOTES
-Matthews, who had appeared in just nine games and played double-digit minutes only once prior to facing the Aggies, put forth a stellar performance, going 4-of-4 from the field for 10 points, adding two rebounds and a steal, and continually outhustling his opponent over his 13 minutes.
-Pegues led the Jets with 14 points and added five rebounds, two steals and an assist despite playing just 19 minutes because of foul trouble. The senior seems to be taking to his increased offensive role, putting up double-digit field goal attempts three times in the past six games after doing so just twice in his first 15. He led the team in scoring for the second time in three games.
-In addition to Matthews, Nwosu came off the bench to net 11 points and four rebounds, while Williams added nine points and DeYoung and Kevin Bryant six each, helping the Jets to a 46-4 edge in bench points — including a 30-0 margin in the second half while the hosts pulled away.
-Thurman also went for double digits, scoring 10 points on 3-of-5 shooting to go with a team-high six rebounds. Cortrael Colbert had a solid game as well, putting up six points, four rebounds and matching a team season-high with seven assists.
WHAT'S NEXT
The Jets continue one of their final homestands of the season with a 3 p.m. tipoff against Lubbock Christian Saturday back at Fugate Gymnasium.
