Games 13 & 14:
Newman (3-8, 0-6 MIAA) vs. Rogers State (9-5, 3-5 MIAA)
Thursday, January 6, 2022 | 6:00 p.m. | Wichita, Kan. (Fugate Gymnasium)
Audio:  Newman Jets Audio Network | Video:  MIAA Network
 
vs. Northeastern State (8-5, 3-4 MIAA)
Saturday, January 8, 2022 | 3:30 p.m. | Wichita, Kan. (Fugate Gymnasium)
Audio:  Newman Jets Audio Network | Video:  MIAA Network
 
DON'T BAR THE 'GATE
The Jets play their first games of 2022 at Fugate Gymnasium on Thursday and Saturday this week.
 
LAST TIME OUT
After battling hard in the first half, the Jets were outscored 52-34 in the second half as Central Oklahoma pulled away 87-66 to win their seventh consecutive game in NU's return to action following Christmas break.  The teams were locked in for a 40-minute battle at the half with UCO clinging to a 35-32 lead, but the Bronchos got rolling in the second and used a 28-5 run including 15 straight Bronze & Blue points to end Newman's upset hopes.  Israel Barnes led the Jets with 21 points.
Full 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.), 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
Rogers State enters this week tied for 10^th in the MIAA standings.  The Hillcats are looking for a bounce-back season after last year's 11-12 campaign that saw RSU tally an 11-11 mark in MIAA play.  The Hillcats' season ended with a first-round loss at Washburn in the MIAA Tournament.  Last season is Rogers State's only sub-.500 season as an NCAA Division II program.  Since joining NCAA Division II for the 2013-14 season, RSU had posted seven-straight winning seasons until last year.  The Jets are very familiar with their visitors from Claremore, Okla. as the schools battled for six seasons as members of the Heartland Conference.  The Hillcats aborted a planned move to the Lone Star Conference to join the Jets as affiliate members of the MIAA.  Newman and Rogers State are the only two MIAA members that do not sponsor football as an NCAA sport.  The Hillcats have never missed the postseason in their NCAA history and are seeking their second NCAA Tournament berth and first since being unable to participate in the cancelled 2020 event.
 
Northeastern State is tied for eighth in the MIAA standings to begin 2022.  The RiverHawks aim to improve upon a 5-17 record from last season with all 22 games being contested inside 'The Association.'  The 'Hawks are looking to post their first winning season since going 18-11 with an 11-8 MIAA record in 2019-20.  That ended a streak of five-straight losing seasons for NSU from 2014-19.  The RiverHawks started their MIAA tenure in 2012 by making the MIAA Tournament three-straight years.  As the Redmen, NSU became a national power with four-straight 20-win seasons from 1999-2003 culminating with a 32-3 record in 2002-03, an 11-1 record in the Lone Star Conference, and the 2003 NCAA Division II National Championship.  After ending with the national title on their fourth-straight trip to the Big Dance, Northeastern returned to the tournament in 2013, their most recent to date.
 
THE SERIES
Rogers State leads 12-5 and has won four in a row and five of the last six against the Jets.  Newman is RSU's third-most played rivalry in their recent history behind only former Heartland Conference members Oklahoma Christian and Lubbock Christian.  RSU leads 5-3 in games played in Wichita and is 4-0 against the Jets in the MIAA.  The Hillcats went 8-4 against the Jets in the Heartland Conference and won the only postseason and neutral meeting against Newman with a 70-61 win in the first round of the 2019 Heartland Conference Tournament.
 
Northeastern State leads the series 7-2 overall and 4-2 in the Division II era of the rivalry.  The Navy & Red are 2-1 in Wichita and ended a four-game losing streak to the RiverHawks with their victory in the teams' previous meeting.
 
PREVIOUS MATCHUP
The Jets jumped out to an 8-2 lead early but couldn't sustain it as RSU used a second-half push to put away Newman to spoil Senior Day 85-72 and sweep the season series in Wichita February 20, 2021.  The Hillcats lead by as many as seven in the first half, but NU battled back to trail 40-38 at the break.  The teams were tied at 45-45 with just under 16 minutes to play when RSU used a 9-2 run to create separation.  Joel Boyce stopped the run with a basket, but the Hillcats responded with a 10-2 run to gain a 15-point lead they would never relinquish.  Boyce led the Jets with 19 points in the loss.
Full Recap | Box Score
 
The RiverHawks jumped out to an 8-2 lead early but couldn't sustain it as NU used a second-half push to put away Northeastern 74-66 to split the season series in Wichita February 18, 2021.  The Jets didn't take long to cut the lead down to 1 with just over 14 minutes to go in the first half before consecutive NSU baskets gave the 'Hawks a four-point lead at halftime.  Neither team could gain the advantage in the second period as the Jets and RiverHawks tied the game 12 times and traded the lead nine times before a David Javorsky trey with just over a minute to go gave the Jets a 69-66 lead.  Tracy Jones gave NU a 5-point lead with two free throws and NU would add charity shots to end the game on an 8-0 run and snap a long losing streak.  Joel Boyce tallied 22 points for the Jets.
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.
 
HERDING THE HILLCATS AND FLYING WITH THE RIVERHAWKS
Justin Barkley is in his 12^th season as the head coach of Rogers State men's basketball and had amassed a record of 229-118 coming into the season.  Under Barkley's direction, Rogers State was one of the most consistent Heartland Conference programs and successfully transitioned to immediate success in the nationally-recognized MIAA.  Barkley's only losing season was last year when the Hillcats finished 11-12 in the Coronavirus-shortened 2020-21 season.  Barkley has led RSU to at least 20-wins seven times and is an incredible 125-30 at home inside the Claremore Expo Center.  From 2015-2017, Barkley coached three-straight Heartland Conference Players of the Year.  In the program's first year in the MIAA, RSU earned their first-ever Top 25 ranking as an NCAA member and finished the season ranked 18^th in the country, earning an at-large bid to the cancelled 2020 NCAA Tournament.  Barkley previously led Rogers State to two NAIA Tournament appearances in their final two seasons as an NAIA member while finishing the season in the Top 25 of the NAIA rankings both years.  Barkley's 2016 Hillcats won the Heartland Conference championship while the program was ineligible for postseason play while transitioning from the NAIA and Barkley was honored as the 2016 Heartland Conference Coach of the Year. 
 
Barkley is in his 14^th season on the Hilltop overall after spending two seasons as an assistant coach before being hired in April 2010 to take over the program.  Barkley has spent his entire coaching career inside the Sooner State with stops at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M as an assistant coach and at Northeastern State, his alma mater, as a graduate assistant coach.  As a player, Barkley helped lead the Redmen of NSU to the 2003 NCAA Division II National Championship and also won a state title as a high school player at Inola High School in 1998.
 
Ja Havens is in his second season on the bench at his alma mater after playing for the Redmen from 1996-98.  After departing for one year, he returned to campus as a graduate assistant and helped Northeastern to two Lone Star Conference North Division titles and an appearance in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.  Havens went 5-17 in his first year on the bench in Tahlequah in a season shortened by the 2019-20 Coronavirus Pandemic.  The 'Hawks were immediately competitive with 10 of the 17 losses coming by single-digits and two defeats in overtime.  Havens entered the season with a 136-91 record overall and spent the previous seven years as the head coach at East Central in Ada, Okla.  He is the fastest coach to 100 wins in ECU history and led the Tigers to two regular season Great American Conference titles, the 2017 GAC Tournament crown, and the program's first NCAA Tournament appearance later that season.  Havens never missed the postseason in Alva and never posted a losing record with three 20-win seasons, setting a new program record with 25 wins with his 2016-17 team.
 
Havens also has extensive experience as an assistant coach.  Before taking over at East Central, Havens served eight years as an assistant at Drury and assisted the Panthers to five West Division titles in the Great Lakes Valley Conference.  Drury went 173-68 in his eight years on the bench and made six NCAA Tournament appearances winning a national title in 2013.  Havens spent four years at the NCAA Division I level when he assisted at Tulsa serving as the program's director of basketball operations.  While Havens was on the bench, the Golden Hurricane earned two championships in the Western Athletic Conference and made one NCAA Tournament appearance.  Haven's career began in 1998 at St. Gregory's.  Coaching runs in Havens' blood; his father is a member of the Oklahoma Coaches Association Hall of Fame, his brother Jon is also a collegiate head coach and previously served as an assistant in Tahlequah, and his wife Angie played basketball at NSU.
 
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.
 
CLOSE CALLS
The Navy & Red have played in five games where the margin was less than 10 points at some point in the final minute of play, going 1-4 in those games.  Down-to-the-wire basketball is nothing new for the Jets as Newman played 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 last year where the final score was decided by a margin of 10 points or less. 
 
SCHEDULE UPDATE
Newman's postponed game against Cameron has been rescheduled to Tuesday, February 8, 2022 at 6:00 p.m.  The Navy & Red were originally scheduled to travel to Lawton, Okla., to play the Aggies on Saturday, November 20.  The game was postponed due to Coronavirus protocols inside the Aggies program.  It will be the third game in five days for the Jets but follows two home games the previous week.  In addition, the Jets do not have a midweek game scheduled for that week as they will be hosting travel partner Central Oklahoma on Saturday.
 
LEADING 'THE ASSOCIATION'

• At the start of the second semester, freshman Stevie Strong is in the upper echelon of MIAA shooters in several categories.  Strong is seventh in the league in 3-pointers per game and is eighth in 3-point percentage.  Strong has made the third-most threes in the league and has attempted the fifth most.  In addition, Strong's 93% clip from the foul stripe is good for second in 'The Association' and 11^th in the country.
• Strong's 12 3-pointers attempted at Nebraska-Kearney is tied for the ninth most in the conference this season.
• Deandre Johnson's career-high four blocks at UNK are tied for second most in the MIAA behind only Christian Bundy's five against the Jets for Missouri Southern.
• Emporia State's Tray Buchanan committed nine turnovers against the Jets, the most by an MIAA player in a game this season.
• Newman's 22 free throws against Sterling are tied for eighth most in the MIAA this season.
• The Jets' 92% clip at the line against Emporia State is tied for the sixth-best performance by an MIAA squad.
• NU's 19 turnovers against Washburn are tied for the 10^th most in 'The Association'.

 
NU STATS 'N STREAKS

• At the start of the second semester, the Jets were 13^th in the MIAA in scoring at 66 ppg and were tied for 10^th in defense allowing 72 ppg.
• The Jets can end a seven-game losing streak with a victory this week.  All of the defeats have come in MIAA play.
• Sophomore guard Ian Lee matched a career high with four three-pointers at Central Oklahoma.  He previously hit four in a game against Central Missouri last season.  He has now scored in double-figures in four straight games.
• Junior guard Israel Barnes has scored in double-figures in all five games of his NU career and has poured in at least 20 points in back-to-back games.
• Redshirt junior forward Deandre Johnson matched a career high of 14 rebounds in a loss at UCO.  Johnson also corralled 14 boards his sophomore season in a game at Arkansas-Fort Smith.  In the same game this season he also set a new career best with three assists.
• Freshman guard Stevie Strong set a new career high with 24 points in NU's loss at Nebraska-Kearney.  Strong's perfect career ended at UNK when he missed his fifth try at the foul strip against the Lopers, ending a streak of 29-straight free throws.
• Graduate transfer guard A. J. Morris snared a career-high five rebounds in NU's loss at Nebraska-Kearney.  Morris has also matched his career-best of two steals for a ninth time this season.
• Redshirt junior forward Deandre Johnson swatted four shots to set a new career best for blocks in the Jets' loss to the Lopers.
• With six assists against the Ichabods, Ian Lee set a new NU-career high that fell just one shy of his overall collegiate high mark set as a freshman at Howard University.
• Former Haysville (Kan.) Campus High School Colt Stevie Strong set new career highs with four rebounds, four assists, and three steals against Washburn.
• Freshman guard Aleksa Jovanovic grabbed a career-high three rebounds and recorded his first career block in the Navy & Red's loss to Washburn.
• Israel Barnes notched his career high in points with 23 in the Jets defeat to Emporia State.
• Junior forward Deandre Johnson was a perfect 5 of 5 from the field scoring a season-high 11 points in NU's loss at Missouri Southern.  It is the only time in Johnson's career he has shot 100% from the field while taking at least five shots.
• Second-year freshman forward Angelo Santiago grabbed a career-high nine rebounds in NU's loss to MSSU.
• Despite partially tearing ligaments in his ankle, junior guard David Javorsky hauled in a career-high nine rebounds at Pittsburg State.  Earlier this year, Javorsky matched his career best of three steals against Manhattan Christian College.
• Second-year freshman forward Jorge Oliva set a new career best with five boards in NU's loss at Pittsburg State.
• Sophomore Damani Thomas collected a career-high 11 points in Newman's 59-53 win over Tabor on November 18, 2021.  He also set career bests with one 3-pointer and two assists in the same game.  Thomas matched his career high of two steals in NU's very next game against Sterling.
• Graduate guard A. J. Morris notched an NU-career-best 11 points in the Navy & Red's season opening loss @ Concordia-St. Paul.
• 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'S NEXT?
The Jets head east to face Lincoln and Central Missouri next week in their longest road trip of the season.
 
MIAA PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Week 1:  Tray Buchanan – Emporia State
Week 2:  Trevor Hudgins – Northwest Missouri
Week 3:  Tray Buchanan (2) – Emporia State (2)
Week 4:  Trevor Hudgins (2) – Northwest Missouri (2)
Week 5:  Camryn Givens – Central Oklahoma
Week 6:  Isaiah Wade – Central Oklahoma (2)
Week 7:  Trevor Hudgins (3) – Northwest Missouri (3)