WICHITA, Kan. – The Newman University men's basketball team ended a six year drought sneaking away a 76-75 win over the Fort Hays State Tigers, Tuesday evening (Nov. 20) inside Fugate Gym. The Jets continue their three game winning streak improving to 3-2 on the year, while the Tigers fall to 2-3 on the year.
The Jets only saw themselves down 34-28 at halftime despite shooting 40.7 percent from the field, while the Tigers shot a red hot 56.5 percent from the field. The Jets' defense once again continued to cause havoc for the opposition forcing 11 first half Tigers turnovers.
The Jets saw themselves down by their biggest margin just 14 seconds into the second half after FHSU's Jared Vitztum nailed an opening possession 3-pointer putting the Tigers up 37-28. The Jets relied once again on their strong defensive pressure clawing back with an 11-0 run, regaining their first lead since 6-4 with 16:30 left in the first half on Tim Troussel's layup underneath.
Both teams continued to answer one another on the offensive side keeping it back and forth midway through the second half. The Tigers tried to put the game out of reach just before the 6:00 minute mark gaining a seven-point advantage after a 5-0 run. The Jets would not go away easy as Juwan Davenport could not have drawn up a better time to hit his first trey of the night jolting the Jets back in front by two.
Davenport continued his clutch second half outside shooting hitting his second trey of the game putting the Jets up 74-73 with 28 seconds left. The Tigers regained a one point lead with 13 seconds left. Last week's Heartland Conference Player of the week Marshawn Blackmon connected on two free throws becoming the hero of the night for the Jets. FHSU was able to get one last heave as the ball banked off the glass and iron hard, as the Jets escaped victorious for the first time in six years against the Tigers.
Blackmon once against led the Jets in scoring for the fifth straight game with 19 points. Davenport, Demetrius Walker, Ben Ayre and Cameron Goldfinch all reached double-figures.
Newman will head on the road for three straight contests before returning home on December 1st against Oklahoma Christian. The Jets will begin the three game trip in the Drury Classic against Missouri S&T Friday afternoon at 1:00 p.m.
