WICHITA, Kan. - Games 3 & 4: Newman (0-2, 0-0 MIAA) vs. Tabor (2-1, 0-0 KCAC)
Thursday, November 18, 2021 | 6:00 p.m. | Wichita, Kan. (Fugate Gymnasium)
Audio:  Newman Jets Audio Network | Video:  MIAA Network
 
@ Cameron (1-1, 0-0 LSC)
Saturday, November 20, 2021 | 6:00 p.m. | Lawton, Okla. (Aggie Gym)
Audio:  None | Video:  Lone Star Conference Network
 
 
OPENING THE 'GATE
The Jets play their home-opener at Fugate Gymnasium before heading out on the road to play a familiar nonconference rival this weekend.  Newman's game against Tabor will be an exhibition for the Bluejays, but will count in the Jets' record.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Jets started 0-2 after losses at Concordia-St. Paul on Friday and against Southwest Minnesota State on Saturday.  NU fell behind early and couldn't quite climb out of the hole late in a 73-70 defeat to open the season on Friday, November 12, 2021.  The next day, the Mustangs shot 56% from the field on the way to a 84-58 victory.  Both games occurred at the Gangelhoff Center in St. Paul, Minn. as part of the DoubleTree by Hilton Roseville Minneapolis Classic.
 
Concordia Recap | Box Score
SMSU Recap | Box Score
 
SCOUTING THE SQUADRON
Newman ended last year's pandemic-abbreviated season 4-18 while playing all 22 games within the MIAA.  The Jets return 10 players from a year ago, including two of their top three scorers from that team.  The Jets will suit up four players classified as juniors this season who played at that classification a year ago, but plan to utilize the extra year of eligibility granted by the NCAA in response to the Coronavirus Pandemic.  The Jets welcome five new freshmen to the program and they are joined by three sophomores and three other juniors.  Transferring into the Jets program are Clay Center High School product Anthony Atkinson (Barton County), former Wichita Southeast High School star Israel Barnes (Texas-Permian Basin, Weber St.), A. J. Morris (Alcorn St.), Kent Olewiler (Eastern, PA), and Damani Thomas (Niagara).
TOP RETURNERS
Junior guard Branden Bunn is the Jets' leading returning scorer after scoring 11.8 ppg a year ago.  Bunn also led the Jets in 3-pointers connecting on 42.5% of his attempts.  Bunn also proved a valuable addition to the Jets defense by leading the Navy & Red with 24 steals last season.  Redshirt junior forward DeAndre Johnson is NU's leading returning rebounder after snatching 4.3 rpg for the Jets last year.  Sophomore guard Ian Lee returns to pilot the Jets offense after tallying the second-most assists for NU a year ago with 46 dimes against just 40 turnovers.  Lee is also the best returning free throw shooter from last year's team after connecting on over 86% of his tries from the line.
 
BEHIND ENEMY LINES
Tabor College finished 12-10 last year with a 9-8 record in KCAC play.  The Jays started the season 3-0, but then suffered three straight defeats.  The Bluejays had trouble sustaining success last year amidst a a schedule that featured six cancelled or postponed contests.  Tabor was never more than three games above .500 following Christmas break but also never fell below an even record over the last two months of the season.  The winning season ended a streak of three-straight losing campaigns for Tabor.  The Jays last winning season came in 2016-17 when Tabor went 25-10 with a sparkling 19-3 KCAC record en route to the quarterfinals of the NAIA Division II National Tournament.  Tabor last posted a winning record in conference play in the 2017-18 season with a 13-9 mark in the KCAC.  Over the last two seasons, Tabor was a combined 13-44 overall while struggling to a 9-39 record in the KCAC.  Tabor finished last season sixth in the KCAC standings.
 
The Bluejays split two games at the Tabor College Classic, dropping their first game in a heartbreaker to Hastings College 80-79 on Friday, November 12, 2021.  Tabor responded well and blew out Langston University 93-65 the next day.  Tabor's offense was extremely balanced in the victory with all four of Tabor's leading scorers coming off the bench while scoring in double-figures.  Bruno Araujo notched a double-double off the bench with 10 points and 11 rebounds in the victory.  The Bluejays are scheduled to play their conference opener @ #16 Oklahoma Wesleyan on Wednesday November 17, 2021.
 
Cameron finished 2-15 last year playing all 17 games inside the Lone Star Conference to complete a fourth-straight losing campaign.  The Aggies started the year on a six-game losing streak before picking up their first win.  Cameron then dropped the next nine contests before winning the last game of the year.  Cameron's last winning season was 2016-17 when the Aggies posted a 17-12 record going 10-8 against the Lone Star Conference.  It was the second straight winning season for the Aggies coming on the heels of back-to-back years under .500.  Cameron is seeking its first 10+ win season since 2017-18 when the Aggies went 11-17.  Cameron finished fifth out of five teams last year in the Lone Star Conference's North Division.  The Aggies have a chance to build their program this year returning three of their top five scorers and rebounders from a year ago.
 
Cameron split two games against foes from the Rocky Mountain Athletic Contest to open the season last weekend.  The Aggies defeated Colorado State-Pueblo 74-66 on Friday, November 12, 2021 in front of a rowdy home crowd, but fell 84-66 to Colorado-Colorado Springs the next day.  The Aggies are headed to Southwestern Oklahoma State to take on the Bulldogs from the Great American Conference on Wednesday before returning home to host the Jets.
 
THE SERIES
Newman leads the series with Tabor 5-0 in NU's NCAA DII era.  When the schools were NAIA rivals, games were quite competitive with the Bluejays and Jets splitting the last four in the series while NU was a member of the Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference.
 
The Jets have split a six-game series with Cameron down the middle with no team winning consecutive games in the series that dates back to 2009.  NU has a chance to get the first back-to-back victories this season.  It will be the sixth time in seven years the teams have met.  The only season that didn't have Cameron on the schedule was the Coronavirus-shortened season of 2020-21.
 
PREVIOUS MATCHUP
Shamar Acuay scored 21 points as Newman used an early 16-3 run to take control of a 97-60 victory for the Jets in Wichita November 13, 2012.  Tabor battled back to close within 10 at halftime at 35-25.  The Jets left no doubt in the second half, torching the Bluejays while shooting 61.8% from the field while knocking down 7 of 10 3-point tries.  The Jets outscored Tabor 62-35 in the second to go to 1-0 on the season while dropping Tabor to 0-5.
Full Recap | Box Score
 
Marshawn Blackmon scored 20 points and Newman held Cameron to 36.4% shooting from the field to keep the Aggies winless on the season in a 65-57 Jet victory at Fugate Gymnasium November 20, 2019.  The game was back-and-forth early and featured three ties and 14 lead changes.  NU used its advantage inside to push the Aggies around, outscoring Cameron 42-26 in the paint.  The Jets won their fourth game in a row to go to 4-1 on the year while Cameron stayed winless dropping to 0-4.
Full Recap | Box Score
 
CAPTAIN OF THE FLEET
R. J. Allen begins his fifth season as the head coach of the Jets in 2021.  It will be his 11th season with the program.  Allen has compiled a record of 47-60 over his first 4 years in Wichita with a 7-34 record in MIAA play.  Allen has coached a player to the All-MIAA team each of his first two years in the league.  Joel Boyce was named All-MIAA Honorable Mention in 2021 while Marshawn Blackmon earned Third Team recognition in 2020.  During the Jets' last year in the Heartland Conference, Allen led NU to a 20-9 overall record while finishing third in the Heartland Conference at 11-5.  The 20 wins tied the NU record for victories in their NCAA Division II era.  NU also finished the season in the Top 10 of the South Central Regional Rankings.  Allen was named the 2018 Heartland Conference Coach of the Year in his first season at the helm at Newman after guiding the Jets on a dramatic turnaround in the second half of the season that saw NU finish 14-14 overall and third in the conference with a 10-6 record.
 
Allen arrived in Wichita in 2011 and spent six seasons as an assistant and eventually associate head coach under Mark Potter, NU's all-time winningest coach.  The Jets won 88 games over those 6 years and made four trips to the Heartland Conference Tournament and the school's first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance after going 20-8 in 2012-13.  He was also on the bench when the Jets knocked off No. 2 seed Lubbock Christian in the first round of the 2016 Heartland Conference Tournament to earn its first ever postseason victory as an NCAA program.
 
Allen is no stranger to the Air Capital after growing up in Wichita and playing his prep years for his dad, Ron, at Wichita East High School.  Allen was a two time All-City and All-State selection and helped lead the Blue Aces to the 2002 6A state championship.  Following high school, Allen stayed local playing two years at Hutchinson Community College.  The Blue Dragons dominated during Allen's career going 57-9 over the two year span with a 41-1 record in Jayhawk Conference play and winning the conference title in 2004.
 
SOARING WITH THE JAYS & MINING WITH THE AGGIES
Micah Ratzlaff is in his 15^th year at Tabor College and has posted a 220-158 record while going an impressive 196-117 in KCAC play coming into the season.  A former Bluejay himself, Ratzlaff transferred to Tabor College following two years at Oral Roberts.  While a player, he was named First Team All-KCAC twice and was an All-American Honorable mention during the 2000-01 and 2002-03 seasons. 
He continued his basketball career as an assistant from 2003-2005 at Union College in Barbourville, Ky.  He also spent time at East Central University in Oklahoma before becoming assistant coach at Tabor.  After one season, he was named the head coach.
 
Andrew Brown is the 12^th men's basketball coach in Cameron history and is entering his seventh season on the bench in Lawton.  Brown joined the program as the top assistant coach before the 2015-16 season.  Brown entered the season with a 168-196 career record.  In five previous seasons with CU, Brown led the Aggies to a 48-83 record.  The Brown era started with a 17-12 campaign in 2016-17, but Cameron has suffered four-straight losing seasons since.  The bulk of Brown's success came at his previous stop at Northwestern Oklahoma State where he led the Rangers to a record of 119-112 over 8 seasons in Alva, Okla.  Brown began his tenure with his alma mater in 2007-08 while they were an NAIA program in the Sooner Athletic Conference and guided the program during their transition to NCAA Division II status.  Brown was honored as the 2013 Great American Conference coach of the year in his first season in the league.  Brown previously was an assistant with NWOSU and was on the bench when the Rangers reached the Elite Eight of the 2007 NAIA tournament.  Brown previously spent time at the University of Science and Arts and at Otero Junior College (Colo.).
 
UNLOCK THE 'GATE
Newman is 12-2 as a Division II program in home openers, including a 3-1 record under R. J. Allen.  NU had won nine home-openers at a row at Fugate Gymnasium until last season.  The Navy & Red trailed by as many as 21 in the second half before roaring back but falling short in an 82-79 defeat to #21 Missouri Southern Saturday, November 21, 2020.  The Jets only other defeat in a home-opener came back in November of 2010 when the Jets fell 84-71 in a nonconference match against current fellow MIAA member Fort Hays State.
 
CLOSE CALLS
Newman played in 11 games last year in which the score of the game was within six points at some point in the final minute of regulation.  The Jets finished 3-8 in games where the final score was decided by a margin of 10 points or less a season ago. 
 
NEW MANAGEMENT
Kyle McLeroy begins his first year as assistant coach at Newman after spending the previous two years as a graduate assistant at Dallas Baptist University, a former Heartland Conference rival of the Jets.  Serving under long-time head coach Dr. Blake Flickner, McLeroy helped lead the Patriots to a 38-14 record over his two seasons.  DBU also earned a berth into two NCAA Tournaments with McLeroy on the bench.
 
McLeroy prepped at Cypress Ranch High School in Cypress, Texas before beginning his collegiate career at the University of Mary-Hardin Baylor.  As a freshman, he helped the Crusaders to a 25-3 record and a No. 5 ranking in the NCAA Division III Top 25.  He redshirted the next season and then transferred to NCAA Division I Sam Houston State.  There he led the Bearkats to a combined 50-20 record over his two seasons and helped set a new NCAA DI-era program record with 26 wins in the 2014-15 season.  Sam Houston State played twice in the Southland Conference Tournament championship game and made two appearances in the College Insider Tournament.
 
LEADING 'THE ASSOCIATION'

• Joel Boyce finished last season ninth in the MIAA in field goal percentage after hitting nearly 54 % of his shots.
• Branden Bunn was fourth in 3-point percentage, drilling 42.5% of his attempts from behind the arc.
• Bunn was also a volume shooter for the Jets, connecting on 2.6 3-pointers per game, good for a tie for fourth in the MIAA last season.
• As a team, the Jets tied for the fourth-best 3-point percentage in a game in the MIAA last year by making 57 % of their outside shots in a 90-68 win over Central Oklahoma.
• NU tied for the 5^th most free throws hit by an MIAA team last season swishing 29 of 35 tries in a 74-66 victory against Northeastern State.
• The Jets tied with Rogers State and Missouri Southern for the third-most turnovers in a game last season, committing 23 in a 100-61 loss at Washburn.

 
NU STATS 'N STREAKS

• The Jets ranked 14^th in the MIAA in scoring last season at 68 ppg and finished 10^th defensively, giving up 79 ppg. Concordia-St. Paul finished 12^th in the NSIC in offense a year ago while scoring 70 ppg and was 15^th defensively while allowing 85 ppg.  SMSU finished 16^th in the NSIC in offense last year scoring 63 ppg but was the 4^th best defensive team giving up 73 ppg.
• NU guard Brandon Bunn has scored in double-figures in five straight games.
• The Jets are looking for their first winning season since 2018-19 when Newman finished 20-9 while tying for third in the Heartland Conference.  NU also seeks its first 10+ win season since that same campaign.  2018-19 was also the last season NU participated in the postseason, losing in the first round of the final Heartland Conference Tournament to Rogers State.

 
WHAT IS NEXT?
The Jets return home to face Sterling College from the KCAC at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, November 23, 2021 as the second half of a nonconference doubleheader.  The Newman women's team will open the evening with a 5:30 p.m. tipoff against Cottey College.