FORT SMITH, Ark. - A 52-point second half allowed Arkansas-Fort Smith to turn a six-point halftime lead into a 23-point win, as the Lions handed Newman an 84-61 loss Saturday evening inside the Stubblefield Center. Will Burdette scored 24 points to lead the Jets.

Newman (7-6) scored on each of its first five possessions, and bolted out to a nine-point, 12-3 lead in the first four minutes of Saturday's game, but Arkansas-Fort Smith answered with a 12-1 run over the next four minutes to take a 14-13 lead after a Jake Toupal trey with 12:17 to play in the first half. The Jets forced three ties over the next eight minutes, but a Cedric Henderson lay-up at the 6:42 mark gave the Lions a lead they would not give up for the remainder of the half. UAFS out-scored Newman 9-5 over the final seven minutes of the half, and held a 32-26 lead at halftime.

Arkansas-Fort Smith returned Newman's favor in the second half, opening the period on a 9-3 run, and taking their first double-digit lead at the 17:48 mark when another Toupal trey gave the Lions a 39-29 lead. It was all Lions from that point forward. UAFS pushed their lead to 14, 48-34, with a Wayne Jackson dunk at the 13:08 mark. The Lions led by double-figures for the majority of the remainder of the game, and extended their lead to 20 with yet another Toupal three with 2:05 remaining that gave the Lions an 80-58 lead. From there, UAFS cruised to the 84-61 win.

William Burdette provided nearly one-third of Newman's offense, hitting six of his eight shots from the field, including three of four three-point attempts, and added a nine-for-10 effort from the free throw line to lead the Jets with 24 points. Burdette and Kyle Grant each grabbed a team-high four rebounds. Keaton Schultz did not play in the contest due to a hand injury.

Toupal hit five treys in the contest, and led UAFS with 25 points.

With the loss, the Jets fall to 7-6 on the season. They will return to action Thursday, traveling to Laredo, Texas, to take on the Texas A&M International Dustdevils. Tip-time inside TAMIU's Kinesiology Building is slated for 8 p.m.