SAN ANTONIO, Texas - The Newman men's basketball team's first-ever trip to the Heartland Conference Championship tournament ended in disappointment Friday night, as the Jets dropped a 74-72 semi-final contest to St. Mary's Friday night at Bill Greehey Arena in San Antonio, Texas. Jaray Mathews and Chip Steven each scored 17 points to lead the Jets.

Playing as the visiting team in their own building, St. Mary's (17-12) made the first move, scoring the first four points of the game, and keeping Newman (18-10) off the scoreboard for better than two minutes. A Jaray Mathews jumper gave the Jets their first points of the game, and started a 6-0 run that pushed Newman to a 6-4 edge less than 90 seconds later. It was a see-saw battle for the next 10 minutes when a free throw by St. Mary's' Curtis Mitchell forced the seventh tie of the game, 26-26, with 5:57 still to play. The Rattlers scored the next five points of the game, and took a 31-26 lead after an Aaron Thomas jumper. The Jets trailed by at least four for the next four minutes, when a Chip Steven jumper cut the Rattler lead to three, 37-34, with 1:11 left in the half. By halftime, St. Mary's had established a five-point, 41-36 lead.

The second half picked up where the first half left off. Gordon Ward pushed the Rattlers' lead to seven with a lay-up to open the second half, but Newman responded with a 9-2 run to tie the game, 45-45, after a Jake Darby trey. St. Mary's broke the tie on the ensuing possession when Mitchell drained a trey of his own to give the Rattlers a three-point, 48-45, edge with 14:41 to play. It was just that kind of night for the Jets. The game was never out of reach, but Newman could never take a firm lead. Newman forced five ties in the second half, and never trailed by more than four, but couldn't find a way to get over the hump.

The Jets had a chance to take the lead inside of 50 seconds, but Curtis Mitchell snatched the ball out of Jaray Mathews hands and took it to the other end for a lay-up that gave the Rattlers a 73-70 lead with 35 seconds left. Chip Steven made up for the Mathews miscue on the next possession, draining a lay-up to bring the Jets back to within one, 73-72, with 21 seconds remaining, but Gordon Ward gave St. Mary's a two-point, 74-72, edge with a free throw at the other end. The Jets had a chance for the win in the final seconds, but Keaton Schultz's long three-point attempt was too hard, and the Rattlers escaped with the 74-72 win.

Jaray Mathews and Chip Steven each scored 17 points to lead Newman in their final game of the season. Keaton Schultz added 12 points, while Will Burdette finished with 10 points to round out Newman's double-digit scorers. Mathews was also Newman's high rebounder, grabbing nine boards in the game.

Gordon Ward scored a game high 19 points to lead St. Mary's

With the loss, the Jets end their season at 18-10, and conclude Newman's most successful season as an NCAA Div. II member. They will look to reload next season, as they will lost Jaray Mathews, Jarvis Jackson, Terrell Northington, and Bryan Mokeski to graduation.