WICHITA - It took 17 games to do it, but the Newman men's basketball team finally found it's rhythm from beyond the arc, draining 16 three-point field goals en route to an 89-62 win over Heartland Conference rival St. Edward's Saturday afternoon inside Fugate Gymnasium. Keaton Schultz drained seven treys en route to a game-high 23 points.

After exchanging baskets witht he Hilltoppers for the first two minutes, Newman (9-8, 2-2 Heartland) used a 10-4 run over the next six minutes to turn a 4-4 tie into a 14-8 lead after a Keaton Schultz triple with 12:28 remaining in the opening period. St. Edward's (6-11, 0-5 Heartland) answered with a 5-0 spurt over the next two minutes to take a 14-13 lead after a Shimeek Johnson jumper at the 10:47 mark, but Newman answered with nine-straight points, capped by a Chip Steven trey, that gave the hosts a 23-13 advantage with 6:52 still to play in the opening period. The Hilltoppers pulled back to within five, 24-19, after a Landon DeMasters free throw at the 4:51 mark, but Newman ended the half on an 11-3 run, and held a 35-22 lead heading into the halftime intermission.

A Keaton Schultz trey on Newman's opening possession of the second half set the tone for the final 20 minutes of play, and sparked a 15-5 run that allowed the Jets to push to a 50-27 lead after Kyle Grant converted an old-fashioned three-point play at the 14:09 mark. That early run was enough to take the wind out the St. Edward's sails for the remainder of the half. The Hilltoppers snuck back to within 15, 62-47, after a Mark Watson lay-up with 6:11 to play, but the Jets countered with five-straight trey's, a William Burdette dunk, and another Chip Steven three for good measure to push their lead back to 82-54 with 3:12 to play. From there the Jets simply out-lasted the Hilltoppers en route to the 89-62 win.

Keaton Schultz drained seven of Newman's 16 three-pointers on his way to a game-high 23 points. Chip Steven added four triples of his own and scored 18 points in the game, while William Burdette added 13 points, and tied Tyler Nordman with a team-high six rebounds. Newman shot 53.3 percent (16-30) from three-point range in the contest. For the first time since the team's season-opener, Newman out-rebounded an opponent. The Jets grabbed 40 rebounds in the game, and allowed 39 by the Hilltoppers.

Shimeek Johnson scored 16 points to lead the Hilltoppers.

With the win, the Jets improve to 9-8 on the season, and 2-2 in Heartland Conference play. Newman will return to action Monday, traveling to Dallas to take on the Dallas Baptist Patriots. Tip-time in DBU's Burg Center is slated for 7 p.m.