LAREDO, Texas - When it rains, it pours. Or at least that's what it felt like for the Newman men's basketball team Thursday night. After a series of flight delays and a handful of other travel issues Wednesday night en route to south Texas, the Texas A&M International Dustdevils added insult to injury by handing the Jets an 85-59 loss in front of nearly 400 fans inside the TAMIU Kinesiology Building. Chip Steven's nine points led the Jets in the loss.

Newman (7-7, 0-1 Heartland) scored the first points of the game, taking a 2-0 lead on a Justin Berry jumper in the opening minute of play, but that's where the good news ended for the Jets. Texas A&M International (10-5, 2-1 Heartland) responded with a 16-3 run to take a 16-5 lead less than five minutes into the game. A Tommy Brumbelow lay-up pulled Newman back to within 10, 18-8, by the 14:09 mark, but the Dustdevils answered that lay-up with a 10-4 run and pushed their lead to 16, 28-12, by the 8:42 mark. Just under three minutes later, TAMIU had extended its lead to 20 when a Luis Gomez jumper gave the hosts a 36-16 edge with 5:45 still to play. The Dustdevils extended their lead to as many as 26, 51-25, just inside of the final minute of the opening half before Newman narrowed the halftime gap to 21, 51-30.

After trading buckets for the first two minutes of the second half, Newman began what it hoped would be a methodical come-back effort. TAMIU took a 24-point, 56-32 lead after a Gomez triple at the 18:46 mark before a Berry dunk sparked a 9-3 Newman run, capped by a Kyle Grant trey that pulled the Jets to within 18, 59-41, with 12:49 remaining. A Grant jumper on Newman's next possession sparked a 7-2 Newman run that pulled the Jets to within 12, 63-51, after a Chip Steven trey with 8:03 still to play, but TAMIU ended the game on a 22-8 run over the final eight minute to eliminate all hope of a Newman comeback. When the final buzzer sounded, Texas A&M International walked away with the 85-59 win.

Chip Steven's nine points led the Jets in the loss. Keaton Schultz, William Burdette, Chris Hansen, and Tommy Brumbelow each added eight points in the game. Steven was also the team's leading rebounder with five boards.

Luis Gomez led the Dustdevils with 25 points.

With the loss, the Jets fall to 7-7 on the season, and 0-1 in Heartland Conference play, and remain winless against the Dustdevils in games played in Laredo. Newman will look to bounce back Saturday with a 4:30 p.m. contest in San Antonio against the St. Mary's Rattlers.