Games 21 & 22:
Newman (6-14, 2-12 MIAA) vs. Fort Hays State (14-7, 9-6 MIAA)
Thursday, February 2, 2023 | 7:30 p.m. | Wichita, Kan. (Fugate Gymnasium)
Audio:  Newman Jets Audio Network (Play-by-Play:  Blake Cripps) | Video:  MIAA Network | Live Stats:  NU Athletics
 
vs. Nebraska-Kearney (4-16, 2-12 MIAA)
Saturday, February 4, 2023 | 3:30 p.m. | Wichita, Kan. (Fugate Gymnasium)
Audio:  Newman Jets Audio Network (Play-by-Play:  Blake Cripps) | Video:  MIAA Network | Live Stats:  NU Athletics
 
A BIG WEEK
Newman basketball celebrates Hall of Fame Week with two games at home on Thursday and Saturday.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Newman trimmed a halftime deficit down to four in the second half, but the Gorillas answered with an 18-3 run to take command of a 93-81 victory over the Jets Saturday Jan. 28 at John Lance Arena in Pittsburg, Kan.  The Gorillas shot 59% from the field while torching the nets from the outside shooting 14-for-27 from the 3-point line.  The Jets countered with a season-high 26 free throws on 30 attempts, but the Gorillas outscored the Navy & Red 28-10 in points off turnovers and 18-5 on the fast break.  Stevie Strong led the Jets in scoring with 24 points.
Full Recap | Box Score
 
Earlier last week, a massive Jets comeback fell just short in a 70-66 loss at Missouri Southern.
 
BEHIND ENEMY LINES
Fort Hays State enters the last month of the season in sixth place in the MIAA standings.  Following back-to-back .500 seasons, Fort Hays State showed dramatic improvement in 2021-22 after finishing 23-6 while notching a 17-5 record in MIAA games.  Despite the impressive resume the Tigers, after narrowly falling to #15 Northwest Missouri in the MIAA Tournament semifinals, were not selected for the 2022 NCAA Tournament.  2021-22 was FHSU's first winning season since finishing 18-11 in 2018-19.  The Tigers haven't suffered a losing season since 2006-07 when they limped to a 13-15 record while finishing 6-12 in conferenced action.  Last season's MIAA Madness was the program's first postseason berth since 2019.  2021-22 was FHSU's first 20-win campaign since finishing 20-11 in 2015-16.  The Tigers seek their 14^th NCAA Tournament appearance in 2023 which would be the program's first since 2016.
 
Inside MIAA play, the Tigers rank ninth in offense at 66.2 ppg but second defensively at 60.3 ppg.  Kaleb Hammeke leads Fort Hays State in scoring at 16.5 ppg and is seventh in the league while Gabe Pieschl is the Tigers' rebounding leader and tied for tenth in the conference at 6.0 rpg.  Hammeke ranks third in the league at 3.8 assists per contest and is tied for sixth in the league shooting 82.4% from the free throw line.
 
UNK begins February tied with Newman in 13^th position in the MIAA standings.  Nebraska-Kearney is looking to turn things around in 2022-23.  The Lopers finished 11-17 last year with a 7-15 conference record.  Following an 8-14 record in 2020-21, the Lopers have posted consecutive losing seasons for the first time since finishing under .500 three straight times from 2008-11.  The Lopers have finished with losing records three out of the last four seasons and have finished with single-digit MIAA wins in each of those three years.  The Lopers look to end a two-year postseason drought in 2023 and are seeking their 13^th NCAA Tournament appearance and their first since 2016.
 
The Lopers are last in the league in offense scoring 61.1 ppg against MIAA foes while allowing 71.7 ppg in conference play, good for 11^th in 'The Association.'  Darrian Nebeker scores 16.3 ppg to lead UNK and is eighth in the league in scoring while Ryder Kirsch paces them in rebounding grabbing 5.5 boards per night.  Sean Evans is one of the league's elite shooters currently hitting at a 49.7% clip from the field (tied for sixth in the MIAA) and 44.4% from the 3-point line (tied for second in the league).
 
THE SERIES
Fort Hays State leads 44-10 with the Tigers taking the last seven in a row and 12 of 13 from the Jets.  The Tigers lead 17-2 in NU's NCAA Division II era.  FHSU leads 7-0 in games counting towards the MIAA standings.  The Jets' last win over the Tigers was a 76-75 nailbiter on November 19, 2018, at Fugate Gymnasium in Wichita.
 
Nebraska-Kearney leads 5-2 with all seven games coming as MIAA foes.  NU's win over UNK earlier this season ended a 3-game losing streak to the Lopers.  The Jets are 1-2 in Wichita against Nebraska-Kearney.
 
PREVIOUS MATCHUP
Fort Hays State jumped out to a 21-7 lead and NU never recovered in an 83-61 loss to the Tigers December 18, 2022, at Gross Memorial Coliseum in Hays, Kan.  NU started the game just 2-for-12 from the field while FHSU connected at a 54.8% clip in the first half and led 47-28 at halftime.  NU trimmed the deficit to 15 quickly in the second half, but the Tigers recovered with a 6-0 run and the Jets were unable to threaten the rest of the game.  Thomas Zevgaras led the Navy & Red with a career-high 18 points.
Full Recap | Box Score
 
Despite the absence of head coach R. J. Allen, the Jets pulled off a gutsy performance to pick up a 74-71 win over the Lopers December 16, 2022, at the Health & Sports Center in Kearney, Neb.  The Jets were without Allen due to the death of his father Ron Allen, a Wichita Sports Hall of Fame member, third all-time winningest coach in Greater Wichita Athletic League (City League) boys basketball history, and an assistant for his son during his first three years as Newman head coach.  In Allen's absence, the Jets played a true team game with five Jets scoring in double figures and the team committing just eight turnovers.  Second year assistant coach Kyle McLeroy, who took over head coaching duties for the game said, "This was hands down one of my favorite wins I have ever been a part of. It hasn't been the easiest few days for our team. We facetimed Coach Allen from the locker room after the game and I'll never forget that moment."  Khaleem Bennet led the Jets in scoring with 16 points.
Full Recap | Box Score
 
THROW OUT THE RECORDS
Just because Fort Hays State has a long winning streak in the series doesn't mean the wins have come easy over the Jets.  11 of the last 15 games in the series have been decided by 10 points or less.  Before the Tigers' 22-point victory in December, the margin had been six points or less in three of the previous four meetings with one of the games being decided in overtime.  In fact, the teams have not played back-to-back games with a winning margin of over 10 points in the last 14 games of the series.  The last time a team had back-to-back double-digit wins was when Fort Hays State knocked off the Jets in Newman's first five meetings with the Tigers after transitioning from NAIA status.  The Jets picked up their first win over the Tigers as an NCAA Division II program in 2012-13 when the Jets won the mythical Kansas Division II state championship by going 4-0 against the in-state schools on the way to a 20-win season and the program's only berth in the NCAA Tournament.
 
COMING ON 'STRONG'
Stevie Strong is starting to work his way up the Newman men's basketball record books.  Last month, Strong jumped into the top ten in career 3-point field goals passing Kyle Smith and Allen Wilson on the list.  Currently in eighth position is Ben Ayre with 269 attempts.  With one more trey, Strong will tie for 10^th in career 3-point field goals made with Wilson who sits at 85 treys with the Navy & Red.  With eight games to play in the season, Strong has an excellent opportunity to enter the top ten in career scoring, career scoring average, season scoring, and season scoring average for his efforts this year.  He's 11 shots away from being in the top ten in career field goals attempted and has an outside shot to enter the top ten lists in season field goals made, career field goals made, and season field goals attempted by the end of this season. 
 
Strong is 12 assists away from cracking that top ten list and his current assists per game average would put him comfortably on that leaderboard as well.  He's also moving up the steals lists and is seven away from tying Chip Steven for 10^th in season steals.
 
STRONG AT THE LINE
Stevie Strong had a career day at the free throw line in Newman's loss at Pittsburg State.  14 of Strong's 24 points came at the charity stripe as he went 14-for-15 against the Gorillas last time out.  The 14 free throws in a single game are tied for third most all-time with Ryan Bradley while his 15 attempts moved him into a tie for eighth with Daniel Nwosu Jr. and Juwan Davenport.
 
SINGLE-GAME FREE THROWS MADE
Rk.           Player                      FTM        Opponent                Date       
1.             Taylor Schieber       19            TAMIU                     2/25/17
2.             Daniel Nwosu Jr.     18            at Rogers State       1/2/17
3.             Ryan Bradley           14            TAMIU                     2/16/08
                Stevie Strong          14            at Pittsburg State    1/28/23
5.             Jarvis Jackson          13            at UTPB                   2/23/08
                Ben Ayre                 13            at Okla. Christian    12/2/17
                Stevie Strong          13            Concordia-St. Paul  11/14/22
8.             Multiple                  12            Eleven Occurrences
 
SLOW 'EM DOWN
The Jets are trying to find the right mix defensively moving into the last month of the season.  Three of the Jets last four opponents have shot over 45% from the field.  The Jets have also allowed teams to shoot over 40% from the 3-point line in three of the last four games.  Two of the Jets' last three opponents have scored at least 88 points.
 
WE'LL TAKE THE CHARITY
The Navy & Red have done a great job of producing at the free throw line recently.  The Jets have scored at least 15 points at the line in their last three games and four of their last five.  This is the only three-game stretch of the season where NU has hit 15+ free throws consecutively.  The Jets have shot 75% or better from the line in two straight and three of their last five and the 26-for-30 performance against Pitt State last time out was a season high in free throws made, the second highest number of attempts, and the Jets' best percentage of the year.
 
RSVP FOR HALL OF FAME DAY
The 2023 Class of the Newman Athletics Hall of Fame has been announced and will be inducted on February 4, 2023, at 7:00 p.m.  The day gets started with exciting MIAA basketball action at Fugate Gymnasium with a 1:30 p.m. doubleheader as the Jets host Nebraska-Kearney.  Fans are then invited to move to the Dugan Conference Center adjacent to Fugate Gymnasium and O'Shaughnessy Hall on campus.  Three former Newman Athletes and former Newman men's basketball coach Mark Potter headline this year's class.  Eck Agency will also be inducted as a booster.  The ceremony will begin with the presentation of the Sr. Thomasine Stoecklein Spirit Award.  RSVP your spot today HERE.  Proceeds directly support NU Athletics and table discounts are available.
 
CAPTAIN OF THE FLEET
R. J. Allen begins his sixth season as the head coach of the Jets in 2021.  It will be his 12th season with the program.  Allen has compiled a record of 53-81 over his first five years in Wichita with a 10-55 record in MIAA play.  Allen has coached a player to the All-MIAA team each of his first three years in the league.  Israel Barnes received All-MIAA Honorable Mention recognition last season, 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 a 2-5 record against the Lopers and is 1-8 against Fort Hays State.
 
TRAINING THE TIGERS & LEADING THE LOPERS
Mark Johnson is in his 23^rd year as the head coach of Fort Hays State and he is the winningest coach in program history.  Johnson entered the year 407-203 with a 256-155 mark in conference games and a 190-129 record in the MIAA.  Johnson previously served as an assistant coach for the Tigers from 1996-2001 on the staff of Gary Garner.  Before he arrived at Hays, Johnson was an assistant at Phillips University in Oklahoma and Labette Community College.  His career started as a graduate assistant at Pittsburg State, his alma mater.  As a Gorilla, Johnson was twice honored as an All-MIAA player and was All-South Region as a senior.  He transferred to Pittsburg after two seasons at Kilgore Junior College.  As a senior at Millard South High School in Omaha, Neb., Johnson was named All-America, All-State, All-Metro, and All-Conference.  Johnson has led the Tigers to seven NCAA Tournaments and ten 20-win seasons.  He has suffered just one losing season as the Tigers' head coach.  Johnson led FHSU to a Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference-East Division crown in 2006 with an 18-1 RMAC record and a first-place tie in the MIAA in 2013. 
 
Johnson's teams are 18-2 against Newman.
 
Kevin Lofton is in his 28^th year as a member of the UNK coaching staff and has been head coach since 2005.  Lofton started with Nebraska-Kearney as a graduate assistant from 1995-97.  He joined the staff full time after that and was made associate head coach in 2001.  In 2005, he became co-head coach with Tom Kropp and was retained in the head role following Kropp's retirement at the end of the 2014-15 season.  It is Lofton's 18^th year as head coach and entering the season he has amassed a record of 258-223 with a 177-160 mark in conference play.  In seven years as a solo coach, Lofton is 102-98 with a 67-75 tally against 'The Association'.  Lofton started his playing career in his home state of Arizona at Yavapai Community College before finishing his education at Regis in the RMAC.  As head coach or co-head coach, Lofton has led the Lopers to three NCAA Tournament appearances and 11 postseason appearances overall, four 20-win seasons and was on the bench for UNK's 2006 RMAC Tournament title.  He led the Lopers to their best-ever MIAA Tournament finish in his first year solo on the bench when UNK finished 21-12, 14-8 in the league, runner-up in the MIAA Tournament and reached the second round of the 2016 NCAA Tournament. 
 
Lofton is 5-2 against the Jets.
 
SCOUTING THE SQUADRON
The Jets went 6-21 in 2021-22 with a 3-19 record inside the MIAA.  Newman returns four players from last year's squad including second-leading scorer Stevie Strong, who averaged 13.7 ppg.  Strong was also second on the team in steals with 22 and led the Jets in 3-pointers shooting 44-for-138 from outside (31.9%).  Strong also paced the Jets from the foul line with 68 free throws on the way to shooting an impressive 89.5%.  Junior Ian Lee started 23 of 27 games for the Jets last season and dazzled offensively with 83 assists against just 43 turnovers.  Lee was also Newman's third-leading scorer at 9.6 ppg.
 
The Jets will be junior and graduate led this season with no seniors on the roster.  The Jets start the season with seven freshmen on the roster.  The Navy & Red will feature eight transfers this season: five from the junior college level and four from NCAA Division I.  Newman's roster features two graduate students, six juniors, and four sophomores.
 
LEADING 'THE ASSOCIATION'

• Entering the week, former Campus Colt Stevie Strong is tied for fifth in the MIAA in scoring at 17.2 ppg.
• Strong is 10^th in the conference in free throw percentage at 78.1%.
• Strong's 3.7 apg ranks him in a tie for fourth in the league in assists.
• Strong's 1.6 assist to turnover ratio is tied for seventh in the MIAA.
• Strong ranks fifth in steals with 1.7 pilfers per game.

 
NU STATS 'N STREAKS

• Stevie Strong has scored in double figures in 21-consecutive games dating back to last season. 
• Stevie Smith has tallied at least 10 points in his last eight contests.
• Junior Latik Murphy built his streak of double digit scoring to three games last week.
• Strong's 14-for-15 performance at the free throw line at Pitt State was a career high in both free throws made and attempted.
• Freshman Sam Somerhalder recorded a career-high four steals at Missouri Southern last week.
• Chris Mitchell set a new career high with two rebounds at MSSU last week.
• In conference games, the Navy & Red rank eighth offensively scoring 66.4 ppg.
• The Jets are ranked 14^th defensively allowing 76.3 ppg against league foes.
• 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.

 
AND THEN…
The Jets split time at home and on the road next week hosting Washburn Wednesday before traveling to Emporia Saturday.
 
2022-23 MIAA PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Week 1:  Bennett Stirtz – Northwest Missouri
Week 2:  Alijah Comithier – Emporia State
Week 3:  Will Eames – Missouri Western
Week 4:  Kaleb Hammeke – Fort Hays State
Week 5:  Diego Bernard – Northwest Missouri (2)
Week 6:  Owen Long – Emporia State (2)
Week 7:  Jaden Wells – Central Oklahoma
Week 8:  Jaden Wells (2) – Central Oklahoma (2)
Week 9:  Owen Long (2) – Emporia State (3)
Week 10:  Diego Bernard (2) – Northwest Missouri (3)
Week 11:  Owen Long (3) – Emporia State (4)
 
2022 MIAA MEN'S BASKETBALL PRESEASON POLLS
Coaches
1.  Northwest Missouri (11) – 167 Points
2.  Central Oklahoma (3) – 158 Points
3.  Fort Hays State – 137 Points
4.  Washburn – 131 Points
5.  Emporia State – 125 Points
6.  Northeastern State – 100 Points
7.  Missouri Western – 93 Points
8.  Missouri Southern – 85 Points
9.  Central Missouri – 73 Points
T-10.  Pittsburg State – 63 Points
T-10.  Rogers State – 63 Points
12.  Nebraska-Kearney – 36 Points
13.  Lincoln – 26 Points
14.  Newman – 17 Points
 
Media
1.  Northwest Missouri (14) – 261 Points
2.  Central Oklahoma (4) – 243 Points
3.  Fort Hays State – 216 Points
4.  Washburn – 209 Points
5.  Emporia State – 181 Points
6.  Missouri Western – 163 Points
7.  Missouri Southern – 146 Points
8.  Northeastern State – 135 Points
9.  Central Missouri – 112 Points
10.  Pittsburg State – 106 Points
11.  Rogers State – 92 Points
12.  Nebraska-Kearney – 67 Points
13.  Newman – 33 Points
14.  Lincoln – 31 Points