WICHITA, Kan. — With another conference win streak underway, the Newman men's basketball team finishes off a homestand with a pair of Heartland games this weekend at Fugate Gymnasium against Dallas Baptist and Lubbock Christian.
SCOUTING NEWMAN
The Jets (6-8, 4-1 Heartland) have won two straight — and have scored in the 100s for the second straight game — thanks to a 118-99 victory over Oklahoma Panhandle State Saturday. Newman, which netted 66 points in the first half, was one point from matching its NCAA-era team record for points in a game.
Leaders
Daniel Nwosu, Jr.-17.2 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 2.1 apg, 20 stl, 90.1 FT%
Taylor Schieber-16.5 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 1.7 apg, 42.4 FG%, 37.6 3FG%, 90.0 FT%
Kevin Bryant-9.8 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 1.7 apg, 14 stl, 52.4 FG%
Daniel Green-8.5 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 58.8 FG%, 82.6 FT%
Jacob Birnbaum-6.5 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 12 blk, 10 stl, 57.8 FG%
SCOUTING THE PATRIOTS (Thursday, 7 p.m.)
Dallas Baptist (8-6, 3-2 Heartland) has won two straight after dropping two of its first three league games. Those two victories came at home last weekend in a pair of five-point games against Rogers State and Arkansas-Fort Smith.
Leaders
Patrick Burke-14.8 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 10 stl, 5 blk, 69.2 FG%
Myles Johnson-12.5 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 1.4 apg, 12 stl, 41.9 3FG%
Boy Van Vliet-11.6 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 3.2 apg, 46.5 FG%
Amari Bryant-10.7 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 3.3 apg, 40.4 3FG%, 87.5 FT%
Xavier Ledet-6.8 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 2.2 apg, 52.5 FG%
SCOUTING THE CHAPARRALS (Saturday, 3 p.m.)
Lubbock Christian (8-7, 2-3 Heartland) started league play off with a win over Dallas Baptist last month, but since then, has lost three of four. A convincing 84-64 win over UAFS Thursday snapped a short skid, although that was followed up with a 58-49 loss to Rogers State.
Leaders
Brennen Fowler-12.7 ppg, 8.9 rpg, 1.1 apg, 26 blk, 52.2 FG%
Marcos Schuster-11.8 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 3.0 apg, 19 stl
Ridrell Holman-10.5 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 1.3 apg, 39.7 3FG%, 80.0 FT%
Tyler Rogers-9.5 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 1.1 apg, 49.0 FG%
Jay Workman-7.5 ppg, 1.5 rpg, 11 stl, 49.4 FG%
HISTORY LESSON
After falling to both the Patriots and Chaps in both regular season contests last year, the Jets faced both teams again in the Heartland Conference tournament. The first was a thrilling 81-79 win over LCU in the quarterfinals, although DBU grabbed a 95-87 win in the semis. Overall, Newman holds an 11-8 lead in the all-time series against Dallas Baptist since moving to Division II, while Lubbock has a 4-1 edge over the Jets in their short history.
NOTES
-The three teams involved in this weekend's games are three of the eight teams that are locked into a battle nearly a third of the way through the Heartland Conference season. All eight teams are within two games of each other, with the Jets currently tied with St. Edward's at the top of the standings.
-Newman's offense has continued to click, and the Jets are now up to averaging 99.6 games in Heartland play, which is nearly 15 points better than the second-best team.
-That scoring output is boosted along by the Jets hitting 78.0 percent of their free throws, which is tops in the conference and 13th in all of Division II. Bolstering that run is Daniel Nwosu, who is 24th in the country at 90.1 percent. The senior won the Heartland Player of the Week award after averaging 25.5 points in a pair of games last week.
-DBU's Patrick Burke has connected on an impressive 69.2 percent of his shots from the floor, which is second in the country.
-Lubbock Christian will provide a tough test for the humming Newman offense, as the Chaps are allowing just 70.1 points per game overall, and a conference-leading 63.4 in five league games.
COVERAGE
Both games will feature live video, audio and statistics, available at www.newmanjets.com. The games will also be broadcast live on KGSO (93.9 FM, 1410 AM) in Wichita.
