Games 26 & 27:
Newman (4-21, 1-19 MIAA) vs. Lincoln (3-22, 2-18 MIAA)
Thursday, February 24, 2022 | 7:30 p.m. | Wichita, Kan. (Fugate Gymnasium)
Audio:  Newman Jets Audio Network | Video:  MIAA Network | Live Stats:  NU Athletics
 
vs. Pittsburg State (8-18, 7-13 MIAA)
Saturday, February 26, 2022 | 3:30 p.m. | Wichita, Kan. (Fugate Gymnasium)
Audio:  Newman Jets Audio Network | Video:  MIAA Network | Live Stats:  NU Athletics
 
ONE LAST GO 'ROUND
Newman men's basketball wraps the 2021-22 season with Homecoming on Thursday and Senior Day Saturday.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Lincoln Blue Tigers nailed 11 3-pointers and outscored the Jets 24-9 on the fast break on the way to a slim 67-62 win over the Jets Monday, February 21 in Jefferson City.  The Blue Tigers were impressive early and built a 12-point lead with less than two minutes remaining in the first half.  The Jets responded with a 10-0 run that spanned halftime to bring the Jets within two less than two minutes into the second half.  The Jets eventually led by six with less than eight minutes to go when it was Lincoln's turn to get hot as Blue Tiger guard Ni'Sean Rigmaiden nailed four threes in less than four minutes and accounted for 12 points as part of a 14-0 LU run that put the home team in front for good.  The Jets cut the deficit to three in the final two minutes but could only manage a buzzer beating field goal while Lincoln hit free throws down the stretch to secure the win.  Israel Barnes stayed hot for the Jets with a 26-point night.
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 former Wichita Southeast High School star Israel Barnes (Texas-Permian Basin, Weber St.), and A. J. Morris (Alcorn St.).
 
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
The Blue Tigers are in 13^th place entering this week's games.  Like the Jets, the Blue Tigers have been eliminated from postseason contention.  After ending a streak of four-straight winning seasons in 2019-20, Lincoln bounced back with a 12-11 campaign in 2020-21 while going 12-10 in MIAA play.  The Blue Tigers start the week in last place of the MIAA standings.  Outside of an 11-19 record two seasons ago, the Blue Tigers have been on the right side of .500 in five of the last six seasons.  The program turned around under the direction of John Moseley, who departed Lincoln basketball after the 2020-21 season to become the school's Interim (and eventually, full-time) President.  Moseley inherited a program that had suffered through 11-straight losing seasons.  LU didn't win more than eight games in any season over the span and only won more than three conference games twice.  After going 4-24 in his first year, Moseley led the Tigers to four straight winning seasons, a first for LU since the Don Corbett era of the 1970's who is still Lincoln's career coaching leader in win percentage (.729).  The Blue Tigers haven't claimed a conference championship since winning the Heartland Conference title in 2002 when LU went 14-12 but finished atop the league with a 7-3 conference record.  Lincoln hasn't won an MIAA title since 1981 under Ron Coleman who led the Tigers to a 22-8 record and an 11-3 finish inside the MIAA.  Lincoln is seeking its 13^th NCAA Tournament appearance and first since 1981.
 
The Gorillas find themselves tied for 11^th in the MIAA standings heading into this week's games.  The Gorillas are in a six-team scramble to decide the final four teams into the MIAA Tournament.  Pittsburg State wrapped up 2020-21 with a 10-12 record with all 22 games played against MIAA competition.  Pitt State started the year strong with a 2-0 start including a two-point victory over Newman, but the Gorillas gave the good start back with back-to-back losses.  Pitt State was in prime position to make the MIAA Tournament after winning five-straight games in late January and early February to move their record to 10-7, but the Gorillas missed the postseason with a five-game losing streak to end the year including a two-point loss to the Jets in a must-win game in the season finale.  The Gorillas look to end a streak of back-to-back losing seasons in 2021-22, the first consecutive seasons under .500 since 2008-09 and 2009-10 when the Gorillas went a combined 19-35 to end the Gene Iba coaching tenure.  Pitt State is seeking its seventh NCAA Tournament appearance and first since 2015 when head coach Kevin Muff led the Gorillas to an at-large berth in the Big Dance after going 20-12 with a 12-7 record in MIAA action.
 
THE SERIES
Newman leads the series 8-4, but Lincoln has won four straight from the Jets including all four the programs have played as MIAA rivals.  NU is 8-0 in nonconference games against the Blue Tigers and leads the series 4-2 in Wichita.
 
The Gorillas lead the all-time series 19-13 with a 9-5 edge in NU's NCAA Division II era.  The Gorillas have won five of the last six in the series.  Newman leads 8-4 in Wichita and Pitt State is in front 3-1 in MIAA games.
 
PREVIOUS MATCHUP
The Jets and Blue Tigers just met on Monday this week in a makeup game.  The game was postponed from January due to Coronavirus protocols inside the Jet program.  Due to a scheduling quirk, the Jets and Blue Tigers will play their home-and-home series in back-to-back games in the last week of the season.
 
The Jets held an eight-point second half lead but couldn't hold it as Pittsburg State stormed back to win 71-66 December 1, 2021 in Pittsburg.  The first 20 minutes were extremely competitive with neither team leading by more than four in the first half as the Gorillas took a 38-37 advantage into the intermission.  The back-and-forth play continued into the second until the Jets finally built a lead of 8 points with just over 10 minutes to go.  The Gorillas trimmed the lead gradually when A. J. Morris responded with a 3-pointer to put NU in front by five with just over four minutes to go, but NU would make just one more field goal the rest of the way while Pitt State ended the game on a 13-3 run.  Missed free throws by the Gorillas gave Newman a chance, but two game-tying 3-pointers in the last minute bounced off the rim and sent the hosts to victory.
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.
 
Allen has never beaten the Blue Tigers in four tries and is 1-4 in his head coaching career against the Gorillas.
 
TRAINING THE TIGERS AND LEADING THE TROOP
Ed Wilson was named the interim head coach of Blue Tiger basketball in May of 2021.  He previously spent the last seven seasons as the program's lead assistant coach under John Moseley and helped lead the team to six-straight appearances in the postseason.  In 2016, Wilson was on the bench for LU's first postseason victory since 1987.  Wilson's coaching career began at his alma mater Penn Valley in 2008.  In six seasons with the Scouts, Penn Valley notched four 20-win years and five winning seasons with a pair of regional titles and two NJCAA Tournament appearances.  As a player, Wilson was first team All-Region as a freshman and led his Scouts to a 29-6 season that ended with a defeat in the NJCAA title game.  Wilson was inducted into the Scouts' Hall of Fame in 2010.  Wilson played two seasons at Park University and led the team in scoring and rebounding and was honored as an all-conference selection as a senior.  Wilson is 1-0 against the Navy & Red.
 
Kim Anderson is in his fifth year on the bench at Pittsburg State.  Anderson entered the 2021-22 season with a 357-218 career record with a 56-50 mark at Pitt State.  Anderson led the Gorillas to 17-13 records in each of his first two seasons, but Pitt State went just 22-30 over the past two years.  Anderson joined the Gorillas after spending three seasons as head coach at his alma mater, the University of Missouri.  While in Columbia, Mo., the Tigers went 27-68 with an 8-46 record in the SEC.  Before his first NCAA Division I job, Anderson won nearly 75% of his games as the head coach at MIAA-member Central Missouri.  The Mules suffered just one losing season with Anderson at the helm as he led UCM to a 274-94 record while notching a 158-67 mark in the MIAA. 
 
Over his 12-year tenure in Warrensburg, the Mules enjoyed seven 20+-win seasons, three 30+-win seasons, four MIAA titles, and four MIAA Tournament titles.  In his last season on the bench, the Mules were 30-5, 16-3 in the MIAA, swept the conference regular season and tournament titles, and won the 2014 NCAA Division II National Championship.  The 2013-14 Mules split their MIAA regular season title with Northwest Missouri and is the last team to capture a piece of the crown before the Bearcats run of dominance.  Anderson is currently sixth in MIAA history in coaching wins and the active wins leader among current MIAA coaches.  Anderson previously spent time as an assistant coach at Missouri and Baylor before landing his first head coaching gig at Central Missouri.  As a player, Anderson was the 1977 Big Eight co-Player of the Year and played one season with the Portland Trail Blazers in the NBA.  He is 4-1 against the Jets.
 
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 with McLeroy on the roster.
 
TURNING THINGS AROUND
Outside a couple of off nights, Newman is back to doing a fantastic job of taking care of the basketball.  NU has turned it over 10 times or less in six of its last 10 games.  Central Missouri turned the Jets over 22 times and NU turned it over 16 times at Rogers State during this span.
 
LEADING 'THE ASSOCIATION'

• Wichita-native Israel Barnes is sixth in the conference in scoring in MIAA games at 19.4 ppg.
• Freshman guard Stevie Strong is lighting up the scoreboard at the foul line for the Jets.  Entering the week, Strong's 85.2% at the line is fourth best in the league and ranks 28^th in the country.
• Deandre Johnson is tied for eighth in rebounding (6.2 rpg) inside 'The Association' play.
• Canadian guard Ian Lee is tied for 10^th in the league in assists per game (3.1) and sixth in assist to turnover ratio (1.8) in MIAA action.

 
NU STATS 'N STREAKS

• The Jets entered the week 13^th in the conference in scoring in MIAA games at 63.1 ppg and 14^th in scoring defense allowing 77.8 ppg.
• NU will look to end an 11-game losing streak with a win during this three-game road trip.
• Junior guard Israel Barnes has scored in double figures five-straight games and has crested the 20-point mark in four of his last five and seven of his last nine games.
• Sophomore guard Ian Lee has scored in double figures in back-to-back contests and three of his last four appearances.
• Junior guard Branden Bunn has scored at least 10 points in two-straight games for the Navy & Red.
• NU veteran forward Deandre Johnson has snared at least five rebounds in six-straight contests and 11 of Newman's last 12 games.  David Javorsky is trying to follow Johnson's lead grabbing at least six rebounds in each of his last three games.
• Central Oklahoma's Callon Haydon dished 13 assists as the #13/#16 Bronchos knocked off the Jets in Wichita.  It was the most against Newman since Washburn's Tyler Geiman recorded 11 assists for Washburn against the Jets earlier this season.
• Former Haysville Campus Colt Stevie Strong dished a career-high six assists in NU's loss to Missouri Western.
• UNK's David Simental's 33 points against the Jets in Wichita were the most scored against the Jets since Ryan Hawkins lit NU up for 30 in a Jet loss at #3 Northwest Missouri January 21, 2021.  It was five points shy of the all-time record for most points scored against the Jets currently held by Shimeek Johnson who dumped 38 on the Navy & Red in a game at St. Edwards March 2, 2013.
• Barnes poured in a career-high 28 points in Newman's defeat to Fort Hays State in Wichita.  His six treys in the game were also a personal best and the most he'd hit since knocking down four in a game his freshman year at Weber State against Idaho State.
• Graduate transfer A. J. Morris dished out a career-high six assists against the Tigers in Wichita.  It was the most since he had five in a game at North Carolina State as a junior at Alcorn State.
• Lee matched his personal best of seven assists against Northwest Missouri.  It was his best passing performance since dishing seven assists as a freshman at NCAA Division I Howard.
• Strong poured in a career-high 29 points and five three-pointers in NU's first MIAA victory of the season against Northeastern State.
• Northeastern State forward Emeka Obukwelu's 20 rebounds for Northeastern State in the Jets' victory over the RiverHawks tied the most rebounds ever grabbed by a Newman opponent.  Antjuan Ball also snared 20 rebounds against the Jets in a loss at West Texas A&M December 7, 2013.  It is also the most grabbed by any player in the conference this season tying his own season-high from November.
• Strong snared a career-best six rebounds in NU's loss to Rogers State.
• Lee matched a career high with four three-pointers at Central Oklahoma.  He previously hit four in a game against Central Missouri last season.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Johnson swatted four shots to set a new career best for blocks in the Jets' loss to the Lopers.
• Canadian Kwaku Agyapong scored a career-high five points at Nebraska-Kearney.
• Strong set new career highs with 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Agyapong captured a career-high five rebounds 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 will begin their preparations for the 2022-23 season following Senior Day on Saturday.
 
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)
Week 8:  Tray Buchanan (3) – Emporia State (3)
Week 9:  Tray Buchanan (4) – Emporia State (4)
Week 10:  Isaiah Wade (2) – Central Oklahoma (3)
Week 11:  Trevor Hudgins (4) – Northwest Missouri (4)
Week 12:  Tray Buchanan (5) – Emporia State (5)
Week 13:  Tray Buchanan (6) – Emporia State (6)
Week 14:  Jonny Clausing - Washburn