Box Score TOPEKA, Kan. - The Newman men's basketball team's starting five combined for 50 points, but it wasn't enough to overcome a hot-shooting Washburn team. The Ichabods handed the Jets their second-straight loss with an 88-63 decision Friday afternoon inside Lee Arena in Topeka.

Washburn needed just 30 seconds to score the first points of the game, and the Ichabods never looked back from there. By the 17:00 mark, the hosts had developed an 11-5 lead. Five-straight points from Chuck Coley helped the Jets claw back to within one, 11-10, just over 30 seconds later. Newman remained within three points of Washburn until Jeff Reid turned a Josh Pleasant turnover into two Ichabod points with a lay-up, and gave Washburn a 17-12 lead with 11:38 to play in the opening half. That lay-up also sparked a 15-2 Washburn run over the next five minutes that gave WU a 30-14 lead with 6:46 remaining on the first-half clock. And the Ichabods weren't done yet. Washburn added a 14-4 run over the final six minutes of the half, and held its largest lead of the game, a 26-point, 44-18 lead at halftime.

Keeping with the theme of the first half, Washburn opened the second period on a 6-2 spurt that gave the Ichabods their largest lead of the game, a 50-20 cushion, at the 17:46 mark. Newman began what it hoped would be a come-back effort with a Ryan Mesh free throw that sparked a 10-2 run, and cut the Washburn lead to 22, 52-30, after a pair of Bobby Wesley free throws with 12:57 still to play, but that's all the Jets could muster. Newman never led by less than 20 points in the second half, and dropped its second-straight contest with a 88-63 final count.

-Eric Saunders led the Jets with 13 points, and hit three of his nine three-point attempts to lead the Jets. Chuck Coley added 11 points, including a four-for-four effort from the free throw line, while Darrell Traylor added 10 points in a losing effort.

-Each team recorded 38 rebounds in the contest. Coley led Newman's rebounding effort with seven boards, while Saunders joined Mason Felter and Ryan Mesh with six rebounds each.

-Newman committed 17 turnovers in the game, while Washburn committed just 10.

-As a team, Newman shot 35.1 percent (20-57) from the field, and 28.6 percent (8-28) from beyond the three-point arc. The Jets hit 75 percent (15-20) of their free throw attempts. Washburn shot 51.7 percent (31-60) from the field, and 53.8 percent (7-13) from long range.

With the loss, the Jets fall to 3-2 on the season. They will return to action Monday, facing their third-straight MIAA opponent in the Lincoln Blue Tigers. Tip-time is slated for 7 p.m. inside Newman's Fugate Gymnasium.