DALLAS, Texas - A 22-11 run over the final four minutes of the game led the Newman men's basketball to an 84-78 win over Dallas Baptist Monday evening inside the Burg Center in Dallas, Texas. Chip Steven led the Jets, scoring a season-high 18 points for the second-consecutive game.

A six hour bus trip, the last hour of which was spent in Dallas rush hour traffic, didn't seem to have much of an effect on the Jets to open the game. The two teams traded baskets on their opening possessions before an Eric Saunders jumper sparked a 9-1 run that allowed Newman (10-8, 3-2 Heartland) to take an 11-3 lead after a Keaton Schultz jumper at the 16:05 mark. The Jets extended that lead to 22-8 after another Saunders jumper with 14:06 to play. Dallas Baptist (9-7, 1-3 Heartland) slowly began to chip away at the Newman lead. By the 9:52 mark the Patriots had trimmed Newman's edge to nine points after Ryan Marsh converted an old-fashioned three-point play. Two minutes later, a Braxton Adamson free throw cut Newman's lead to 32-28 with 7:04 to play, but Newman responded with a 5-2 spurt to re-claim a 37-28 lead. DBU got as close as two points twice during the final five minutes of the first half, but after 20 minutes, Newman held a 41-37 advantage.

Dallas Baptist made its move early in the second half. The Patriots opened the half on a 10-5 run, and took a 47-46 lead after a Nick Fox jumper with 16:10 left in the game. DBU extended that lead to 50-46 just a minute later, and held the lead for the next 10 minutes. A pair of free throw from Fox gave the hosting Patriots their largest lead of the game, an eight-point, 60-52 edge with 9:09 still to play, but the Jets were far from done. Back-to-back-to-back three-pointers on each of Newman's next three possessions sparked an 11-5 run that pulled Newman to within two, 65-63, after a Will Burdette jumper with 7:32 remaining on the clock. The Jets completed their comeback three minutes later when a 5-2 run, capped by a pair of Kyle Grant free throws, tied the game at 69-69 with 4:42 still to play. Justin Berry nailed a pair of free throws with 2:17 remaining to break a 72-72 tie, and gave Newman a lead it would not give up for the remainder of the contest. The Jets out-scored the Patriots 22-11 over the final four minutes, and picked up their third win in five days with an 84-78 decision.

Chip Steven finished with a season-high 18 points for the second-straight game to lead the Jets. Keaton Schultz was one point behind, finishing with 17 points in the win, while Eric Saunders added 12 and William Burdette finished with 10 points. As a team, Newman shot a season-high 52.7 percent from the floor, hitting 29 of their 55 shot attempts.

Nick Fox finished with a 21-point, 11-rebound double-double to lead the Patriots.

With the win, Newman improves to 10-8 on the season, and 3-2 in Heartland Conference play. They will return to action Saturday when they entertain the Oklahoma Panhandle State Aggies. Tip-time inside Newman's Fugate Gymnasium is slated for 4:30 p.m., or 25 minutes following the Newman vs. OPSU women's game.

--www.newmanjets.com--