WICHITA, Kan. — Grabbing a big win Monday to stay in the thick of a competitive Heartland Conference race, the Newman men's basketball team gets ready to host Rogers State and Arkansas-Fort Smith during Hall of Fame celebrations this weekend.
Thursday will be Cancer Awareness Night, in partnership with the American Cancer Society, and will feature a luminaria ceremony at halftime of the men's game. Saturday is the Hall of Fame games, with the 2017 inductees introduced at the men's halftime.
SCOUTING NEWMAN
The Jets (7-13, 5-6 Heartland) started off a busy week with a big 77-75 win over Lubbock Christian Monday. With the Chaparrals chipping away at what was a double-digit Newman lead, Daniel Nwosu Jr. and Taylor Schieber combined to hit 6-of-8 free throws down the stretch and close out the win.
Leaders
Daniel Nwosu Jr.-18.8 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 2.1 apg, 29 stl, 37.6 3FG%, 89.7 FT%
Taylor Schieber-16.8 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 1.8 apg, 17 stl, 38.0 3FG%, 84.4 FT%
Kevin Bryant-10.0 ppg, 8.2 rpg, 1.8 apg, 21 stl, 46.2 FG%
Daniel Green-8.1 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 12 blk, 56.8 FG%, 78.8 FT%
Jacob Birnbaum-6.7 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 22 blk, 54.1 FG%
SCOUTING THE HILLCATS (Thursday, 7:30 p.m.)
Rogers State (14-7, 7-4 Heartland) picked up a pair of impressive wins at home last weekend, besting first-place Texas A&M International 72-56 and St. Mary's 63-52. The wins pushed the Hillcats into a tie for third in the conference, just one game behind TAMIU.
Leaders
Jeylyn Sharpe-15.3 ppg, 7.7 rpg, 1.4 apg, 26 stl, 48.9 FG%
JD Tisdale-14.4 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 2.8 apg, 22 stl, 47.9 FG%
Baron Smith Jr.-13.8 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 2.7 apg, 39 stl., 44.4 FG%, 50.0 3FG%
Travis Hester-8.4 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 38.6 3FG%, 88.9 FT%
Johnathon Buckley-7.0 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 24 stl, 53.1 FG%
SCOUTING THE LIONS (Saturday, 3 p.m.)
Arkansas-Fort Smith (13-10, 6-5 Heartland) started off last weekend with a comfortable 72-61 win over St. Mary's before falling 54-53 to Texas A&M International Saturday afternoon. The Lions led the Dustdevils by eight at the half, and had a chance to tie it at the free throw line with one second left, but missed the second free throw.
Leaders
Seth Youngblood-14.1 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 2.4 apg, 23 stl, 34.8 3FG%, 92.8 FT%
DaVaunta Thomas-11.5 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 1.6 apg, 11 blk, 44.4 FG%, 37.3 3FG%
Alex Cooper-10.5 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 3.8 apg, 28 stl, 42.4 FG%, 80.7 FT%
Ladarius Coleman-9.0 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 15 stl, 50.3 FG%
Marcus Wallace-7.3 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 2.0 apg, 52.0 3FG%, 83.3 FT%
HISTORY LESSON
Rogers State holds a 5-2 lead in the series since they joined the Heartland Conference, but the Jets earned a 102-95 victory on Jan. 2 in a key matchup, picking up an all-important road conference victory.
UAFS is 11-4 against the Jets since the two became conference mates, including a 98-84 win in Arkansas on Dec. 31. Games played at Fugate Gymnasium have been tight though, with the Lions winning by a point and Newman earning a two-point win in the past two matchups in Wichita.
NOTES
-The Heartland Conference continues to prove itself as a competitive league, with just two games separating third place and eighth place with 11 games under most teams' belts. Newman, which is tied for seventh, is just three games out of first place.
-The Jets are up to sixth in the country with 412 free throws made on the season. They're 20th and lead the conference with a 77.0-percent free throw percentage, helping them score 82.1 points per game.
-RSU is 5-1 over its past six games to get its name into the conference race. The Hillcats are holding their opponents to 57.2 points per game over that stretch, and 69.2 overall this season, the second-best mark in the Heartland.
-UAFS is the only team in the conference better than Newman at getting to the line, hitting 417 free throws on 557 attempts, marks that are fourth and 11th in the nation, respectively.
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.
