WICHITA FALLS, Texas - The Newman men's basketball team kept things interesting early, but a late first-half run helped No. 21 Midwestern State cruise to an 89-69 win over the Jets Monday night in front of 2,100 fans inside D.L. Ligon Coliseum. Chip Steven led Newman with 13 points lin the loss, while Keaton Schultz was held scoreless.

Newman (7-5) gave 21st-ranked Midwestern State (11-1) all it wanted in the first 10 minutes of the game. The Mustangs opened the contest on a 7-3 run, but the Jets responded with a 5-1 run to knot the match at 8-8 at the 15:49 mark. The Jets forced four ties over the next five minutes, but couldn't find a way to take the lead. Finally, a pair of Darrick Thomas free throws sparked a 10-3 run that gave the Mustangs a 29-22 lead after a Kevin Loyd trey at the 9:11 mark. Five minutes later, Midwestern State earned its first double-digit lead with a Chris Hagan lay-up with 4:58 remaining in the opening frame. Two minutes after that, a Hagan trey gave the Mustangs their largest lead of the half, an 18-point, 51-33 cushion with 2:31 left on the first-half clock, but a 5-0 Newman run to end the half pulled the Jets back to within 13, 51-38, by the halftime break.

Midwestern State needed just better than six minutes to push its lead to 20 after a Michael Loyd free throw as part of a 15-6 Mustang run, gave the hosts a 64-44 lead with 13:56 remaining in the game. The Jets pulled to within 15 with a Chip Steven trey as the halfway point of the second half neared, but eight-straight Mustang points gave Midwestern State a lead it would not surrender as the 21st-ranked Mustangs picked up the 89-69 win, their 500th win inside D.L. Ligon Coliseum.

Chip Steven led the Jets with 13 points, while Eric Saunders added 12 of his own. William Burdette rounded out Newman's double-digit scorers, finishing with 10 points and a team-high five rebounds in the losing effort. After shooting 52 percent in the first half, Newman shot just 22 percent in the second half, finishing the game at a .357 clip (20-56).

Michael Loyd's 18 points led a Mustang squad that shot .561 (32-57) from the field.

With the loss, the Jets fall to 7-5. They will return to action Saturday, traveling to Fort Smith, Ark., to open Heartland Conference play against the Arkansas-Fort Smith Lions. Tip-time at UAFS's Stubblefield Center is slated for 4:30 p.m.