WICHITA - The Newman men's basketball team used a late rally to force overtime, then watched as Oklahoma Panhandle State put together a late rally of its own to hand the Jets a 92-89 loss Saturday evening inside Fugate Gymnasium. Keaton Schultz and Eric Saunders each scored 23 points to lead the Jets.

Newman (10-9, 3-2 Heartland) started the game on a 6-1 run in less than two minutes, only to watch Oklahoma Panhandle State (5-15, 2-3 Heartland) reel off four-straight points to pull with in one, 6-5, less than two minutes later. A William Burdette free throw on Newman's ensuing possession sparked an 11-3 run that gave Newman an 18-8 lead after a Tyler Nordman trey with 12:52 to play. Newman led by 11 on two occasions over the next four minutes, but could never put the Aggies away. By the 5:32 mark, OPSU had pulled to within five, 33-28, after a Marcale Marshall lay-up. A Chip Steven jumper two mintues later pushed Newman's lead back to nine, 39-30, with 2:55 remaining in the half, but the Aggies ended the half on a 10-2 run, giving the Jets a slim 41-40 lead at the halftime break.

The Jets continued to struggle in its attempt to pull away from OPSU at the start of the second half. Newman opened the half on a 5-0 run after a Saunders dunk and a Keaton Schultz trey. Schultz added another three at the 17:26 mark to push Newman's lead to seven, 50-43, but OPSU put together a 9-2 run over the next four minutes to tie the game at 52-52 after a D'ron Walker lay-up with 13:22 to play. A Schultz lay-up on Newman's next possession gave Newman a lead it held for the next four minutes, and extended to as many as four, but again the Aggies rallied to force a 59-59 tie with 9:38 to play. Newman responded by keeping OPSU off the scoreboard for the next three minutes when a Jermaine Smith jumper sparked an 8-1 run that gave the Aggies a 67-64 lead with 4:31 to play. OPSU held the lead for nearly the rest of the game, extending it to as many as six on two separate occasions, but Newman ended regulation time on an 8-2 run after an old-fashioned three point conversion by Eric Saunders, and forced overtime with a 78-78 tie.

Newman claimed the early momentum in the overtime frame. The Jets opened the final five minutes on a 5-1 run, and took an 83-79 lead just 30 seconds into the extra frame. The Jets led for the next four minutes, but a Walker lay-up with 1:16 left gave the Aggies an 86-87 lead. OPSU led by as many as five with 30 seconds to play, but an Eric Saunders trey with 22 seconds to play pulled the Jets to within two, 91-89. Saunders had a chance to claim hero honors as the final seconds ticked off the clock, but what looked to be a perfect chance at another old-fashioned three point attempts was rejected, and the Aggies were able to escape Wichita with a 92-89 win.

Keaton Schultz and Eric Saunders each scored 23 points to lead the Jets. Saunders went nine-for-13 from the floor, and two-for-three from long range en route to his career high points total at Newman, while Schultz went six-for-12 from the floor, and hit all eight of his free throw opportunites on his way to 23 points. Schultz also added nine rebounds tolead the Newman team. Chip Steven finished with 14 points as Newman's only other double-digit scorer

Jermaine Smith scored 21 points and added 10 rebounds to lead the Aggies.

With the loss, the Jets fall to 10-9 on the season, and 3-2 in Heartland Conference play. Newman will return to action Thursday, hosting Arkansas-Fort Smith. Tip-time inside Fugate Gymnasium is slated for 8 p.m., or 25 minutes following the conclusion of the NU-UAFS women's basketball game.