AUSTIN, Texas - A late three-pointer spelled doom for the Newman men's basketball team, as the Jets dropped a 74-72 decision to St. Edward's Thursday evening inside the Recreation & Convocation Center in Austin, Texas. Eric Saunders led the Jets with 13 points in the loss.

St. Edward's (8-15, 2-8 Heartland) led for the first four minutes of the ball game, extending that lead to as many as seven, 11-4, by the 17:14 mark, but three-straight Keaton Schultz free throws sparked a 12-0 Newman (14-10, 6-4 Heartland) run that gave the Jets a 16-11 lead after a Chip Steven jumper with 13:44 still to play. Newman took a seven-point lead of their own when a Justin Berry lay-up gave the Jets a 23-16 lead at the 11:20 mark. Over the next five minutes, the Hilltoppers chipped away at Newman's lead, taking a 26-25 advantage after a Zilijan Jones lay-up with 6:01 remaining in the first half. Both teams exchanged buckets and leads over the final six minutes of the first half, but Newman held a 32-31 advantage after the first 20 minutes of play.

The two teams picked up where they left off in the second half, forcing two ties and three lead changes in the first two minutes of the half, but a Shimeek Johnson trey at the 17:29 mark gave the Hilltoppers a lead they held for the next 13 minutes. St. Edward's stretched its lead to nine on two occasions during that time span, but a Tyler Nordman trey at the 6:04 mark sparked a 9-1 Newman run that gave the Jets a brief 65-64 lead after a Nordman lay-up with 4:22 to play. Two ties and five lead changes later, the Jets found themselves with a 72-71 lead in the final minute, but St. Edward's answered with a Jeff Miner three-pointer with 34 seconds left to give the hosts the 74-72 win.

Eric Saunders led the Jets with 13 points in the loss, while Tommy Brumbelow added 12 points. Chip Steven and Tyler Nordman added 11 points a piece to round out Newman's double-digit scorers.

SEU's Shimeek Johnson led all scorers with 27 points, thank to a six-for-nine effort from long range.

With the loss, the Jets fall to 14-10 on the season, and 6-4 in Heartland Conference play, but thank to a St. Mary's loss at Dallas Baptist, the Jets remain in sole possession of second place in the Heartland Conference. The Jets will wrap up their final Texas trip of the season with a visit to Odessa, Texas, to take on the Falcons of Texas-Permian Basin. Tip-time inside the Falcon Dome is slated for 8 p.m.