ODESSA, Texas - Road woes continued for the Newman men's basketball team, which slipped into third place in the Heartland Conference with an 84-77 loss to Texas-Permian Basin Saturday evening inside the Falcon Dome in Odessa, Texas. Chip Steven drained seven treys on his way to a game-high 29 points.

Newman (14-11, 6-5 Heartland) opened the game with a lay-up from Chip Steven, and took a 2-0 lead just over 30 seconds into the game, but Texas-Permian Basin scored the next six points to take a 6-2 lead by the 16:31 mark. The Falcons led by as many as six, 10-4, at the 15-minute mark before a Kyle Grant free throw sparked a 12-5 Newman run, capped by a Keaton Schultz lay-up that gave the Jets a 16-15 lead with 11:04 remaining in the opening half. UTPB re-claimed the lead with an Elijah Jordan trey on its next possession, and stretched that lead to as many as eight, 29-21, with 6:13 remaining in the first half, but again, Grant was up to the task. This time, the Newman sophomore used a lay-up to spark a 12-0 Jet run over the next four minutes that gave Newman a 33-29 lead inside the final two minutes of the half, but that's where the good news ended for the Jets. UTPB finished the half on an 8-2 run, and held a 37-35 lead at halftime.

With one stroke, Chip Steven narrowed UTPB's lead to one with a three-pointer to open the second half. Steven's trey was the first of three-straight treys that let Newman take a 44-37 lead after the first three minutes of the final frame. Newman led much of the remainder of the half, leading by as many as 12, 65-53, after a Tommy Brumbelow jumper with 11:23 to play. But again, the Falcons had a run in them. This time it came in the form of a 14-2 rally that gave the hosts a 73-71 lead with six minutes remaining in the game. The two teams exchanged baskets and the lead for the next four minutes before the Falcons threw the final dagger; a 7-0 spurt to close the game, and gave UTPB the 84-77 win.

Chip Steven drained seven treys, and converted on 10 of his 15 attempts from the field en route to a game-high and career-high 29-point outing, while Keaton Schultz, Will Burdette and Tyler Nordman added 11 points each to round out Newman's double-digit scorers.

Jamal Holden and Erik Martin scored 21 points to lead the Falcons.

With the loss, the Jets fall to 14-11 on the season, and 6-5 in Heartland Conference play. The loss also drops the Jets into a tie for third place with St. Mary's. Newman will have one chance to break that tie, traveling to Goodwell, Okla., Thursday to take on the Oklahoma Panhandle State Aggies. Tip-time is slated for 8 p.m. inside OPSU's Oscar Williams Fieldhouse.