Game #2
Pittsburg State Gorillas (1-0, 1-0 MIAA) at Newman Jets (0-1, 0-1 MIAA)
Tuesday, Nov. 24 • 7:30 P.M. Wichita, Kan. • Fugate Gymnasium
Series Record: PSU leads series 7-4 Last Meeting: Jan. 9^th, 2020 PSU 65 NU 62 at Pittsburg, Kan.
Internet Audio: Newmanjets.com/listen Internet Video: themiaanetwork.com/newman
Up Next: at Emporia State • Thurs. Dec. 3 • 7:30 P.M. • Emporia, Kan.

LAST TIME OUT
In the first half, Newman would start the scoring with a three point basket by Ian Lee to give the Jets the early advantage. The Jets would lead 5-4 with 16:57 after a DeAndre Johnson jumper.  From that moment on #21 Missouri Southern (2-0, 2-0) would take control of the game and extend their lead to 17 points with 2:52 left in the first half, 38-21.  The Jets would score five straight points before the Lions would end the first half on a 5-1 run to lead by 16 at the end of the first half, 43-27.  Early in the second half, Newman would trail by as many as 21 points but David Javorsky would spark a 9-0 run. Branden Bunn, and Ian Lee would add a three a piece to cut the deficit to 12 points with 17:44 left, 38-26.  The Lions would increase their lead back up to 16 with 16:10 left, 52-36.  The Jets would be able to cut the deficit to 11 after a three point basket by David Javorsky, 58-47.  With 13:10 left, the Jets cut the deficit to 10 points after and and 1 drive by Joel Boyce to make the score 60-50.  The Lions would extend their lead back up to 16 points with 10:12 left, 67-51. The Jets would finally get the deficit to single digits with 6:21 left after a J'Sebian Brown made a three point basket made the score 74-65.  With 4:06 left, the Jets would go on a 10-0 run to cut the deficit to two points with 48 seconds left.  A foul by DeAndre Johnson gave the Lions a chance to ice the game with two free throws.  The Lions would miss the first free throw and miss the second to give the Jets a chance to tie the game up.  On the final possession of the game the Jets would inbound the ball to David Javorsky at the top of the key, but his shot would rim out as #21 Missouri Southern State would survive the comeback and defeat the Jets 82-79. The Jets in the second half would outscore the Lions 52-39.

THE COACHES
RJ Allen is in his fourth season as the head coach and tenth on the staff for the Jets. Allen is 0-1, 0-1 in the MIAA in his fourth season at Newman. Last season under coach Allen, the Jets went 9-19 and 3-16 in the MIAA.  Allen has led Newman to a 34-23 overall record and a 21-11 Heartland Conference record over his first two seasons. Allen won Heartland Conference Coach of the Year honors in the 2017-18 season, he was the first coach to win the award in their first season. Prior to Newman Allen spent 5 season as an assistant coach at Concordia University in St. Paul, Minn.

Kim Anderson enters his fourth season as Men's Basketball head coach for Pittsburg State.  Anderson came to Pittsburg State after coaching at his alma mater Missouri University.  Anderson has a career record of 347-206 entering the 2021 season.  In his three season at Pittsburg State he has a record of 46-11 including a 17-13 record in his first season which was a 12 game improvement from the previous season.

ABOUT THE JETS
Newman is 0-1 on the season, 0-1 in the MIAA.  Newman is led in scoring by Junior guard Branden Bunn at 23 points per game.  Joel Boyce leads the Jets in rebounding at 7.0 rebounds per game. 

ABOUT THE GORILLAS
Pittsburg State is 1-0 on the season, 1-0 in the MIAA. Pittsburg State is led in scoring by Quentin Hardrict Jr at 23 points per game.  Arthur Williams Jr. and Zach Burch led the Gorillas in rebounding at 6.0 rebounds per game.

SERIES HISTORY
This will be the twelfth meeting between these two schools with Pittsburg State leading the series 7-4 over Newman.

LAST TIME VS PITTSBURG STATE
In the first half, the game was back and forth until the 15:47 mark when Pitt State (6-8, 2-3) went on a 13-0 run to take a 13 point lead, 21-8, with 11:42 left in the opening period.  Even though Newman was down by double digits for the second game in a row, they would fight back to tie the game at 33-33 heading into the intermission as closed out the half on a 25-14 run. Marshawn Blackmon and David Javorsky led the comeback for the Jets as they both added 6 points apiece to Newman's run.  In the second half, Newman and Pitt State would exchange baskets until the 15:08 mark in the half when the Jets took their first lead since 4-2 early in the first half. Newman controlled the game for most of the second half as they set the pace and held a lead for the majority of the period. Newman's largest lead of the game came in the second half when a Kalin Johnson layup made the lead 5, 48-43 with 12:28 left.  Pitt State would end the game on a 7-1 run to take a 65-62 lead with 20 seconds left in regulation.  Newman had their chances to win or extend the game after PSU missed crucial free throws down the stretch, but the Gorillas defense came up huge getting two blocked shots to secure the 65-62 victory.

UP NEXT
The Jets will travel to Emporia, Kansas on Thursday, Dec. 3^rd to take on Emporia State for another MIAA Conference Matchup with tip-off at 7:30 PM.

LISTEN, WATCH & FOLLOW LIVE
Video streams for all of Newman's regular season contests are available on a pay per view basis on the MIAA Network. Events are available live and is immediately archived for on-demand viewing at the conclusion of the event at www.themiaanetwork.com/newman and on the MIAA Network apps for Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Apple TV and Roku. Listen along to all of the Newman Jets games on The Jets Audio Network with Blake Cripps on the call at newmanjets.com/listen. You can find all things Newman in the Newman Jets Athletics app available in both the App Store and on Google Play.