FORT SMITH, Ark. - The Newman men's basketball team dropped is third road game in four outings Thursday night, falling 81-70 to Heartand Conference and NCAA Div. II provisional member Arkansas-Fort Smith in front of 1,678 fans inside the Stubblefield Center in Ft. Smith, Ark. Will Burdette led the Jets with 17 points and five rebounds in the contest.

Early on, it appeared that this was the Jets' game to lose. Chip Steven drained two three-pointers in the first three minutes to help Newman (16-8) establish a 10-4 lead by the 17:23 mark. Things went downhill from there, though. Steven left the game with an ankle injury and would not return. Arkansas-Fort Smith (7-17) took advantage of the situation, mounting a 24-3 rally over the next 10 minutes, and taking a 13-point, 26-13 lead at the 6:43 mark of the first half. Newman responded with an 8-2 spurt over the next three minutes, and drew to within seven, 28-21, on a Bryan Mokeski lay-up at the 3:57 mark, but the Lions ended the half on a 9-4 rally, and took a 37-25 lead into the locker room at halftime.

Newman kept things managable to start the second half, but couldn't ever get over the hump. By the 15:04 mark of the second half, the Jets had pulled to within seven, 48-41, after a Jaray Mathews jumper, but UAFS scored the next eight points of the game, and pushed its lead back to 15, 56-41, with 12:43 still to play. The Lions maintained a double-digit lead heading into the final six minutes of play, when Newman came to life. A Terrell Northington lay-up narrowed the UAFS lead to nine, 63-54, and started a 10-4 run, capped by a Keaton Schultz lay-up that brought Newman to within three, 67-64, with 2:23 to play, but that was as close as the Jets could get. The Lions came up with the answers they needed over the remaining two minutes, ending the game on a 14-6 tear, and sent the Jets home with an 81-70 loss.

Making his second-consecutive start, Will Burdette led the Jets with 17 points and five rebounds, while Keaton Schultz went just two-of-six from three-point range on his way to 10 points in the losing effort.

LaDustin Williams led UAFS with 31 points, while Chris Williams led the Lions with an eight-point outing.

With the loss, the Jets fall to 16-8, but remain half a game out of second place in the Heartland Conference with three games left to play. Newman will look to rebound Saturday when they travel to Dallas, Texas to take on Dallas Baptist. Tip-off at DBU's Burg Center is slated for 2 p.m.