WICHITA- The Newman men's basketball team defeated St. Mary's in thrilling fashion, 76-74 inside Fugate Gymnasium on Saturday. Shamar Acuay led the Newman offensive attack with a career-high 20 points.

The first half saw a battle of teams trying to set the tempo of the game. Both teams traded off baskets in the early going, but the Jets opened up a four-point lead, 9-5 at the 16:59 mark, following a Darrell Traylor layup. The Rattlers scrapped back, taking their first lead of the game, 12-11, when Daryell Taylor drained a three-pointer at the 15:12 mark. The game remained a virtual deadlock, until a 7-0 run by St. Mary's, highlighted by two Joe Monroe free-throws at the 7:03 mark gave the Rattlers a bit of a cushion. St. Mary's held an eight-point advantage until the 3:11 mark, when Newman rallied with a four-point spurt to pull within four, 41-37, after a pair of Ryan Mesh free-throws with 2:28 to play. A Bobby Wesley three-pointer with 30 seconds left in the period pulled Newman to within three points, but St. Mary's went into intermission with a 45-42 lead.

St. Mary's opened the second half on a 7-2 run, finding its post presence in Kevin Kotzur early and often. Newman closed the deficit back to four, 52-48, following a Bobby Wesley jumper and Chuck Coley dunk with 16:07 left to play. The Jets narrowed the gap to two, 56-54 at the 13:15 mark, after Shamar Acuay hit two crucial free-throws. Neither team could run away with the momentum, trading baskets until the 8:16 mark, when the Rattlers had a four-point surge, and took a 68-63 lead with 6:32 left in the period. When it looked like the Rattlers would finally run off with the victory, the Jets found an answer. At the 1:48 mark, Josh Pleasant knocked down a jumper, pulling Newman to within one, 72-71. The final minute of play brought the most excitement. Darrell Traylor gave the Jets a 73-72 lead, after a pair of free-throws with 1:03 left in regulation. On its next possession, St. Mary's ran the shot clock down to five seconds, before Lamb Autrey converted a layup, putting the Rattlers up 75-74 with 35 seconds left to play. Newman answered on the ensuing possession when Shamar Acuay received the ball at the top of the key, and hit a jumper five seconds later to give the Jets a 75-74 with 30 seconds left to play. Autrey held the ball until six seconds remained on the clock, and attempted a jumper that rattled in-and-out. Chuck Coley corralled the rebound, and was fouled immediately. Coley made one-of-two free-throws to give the Jets a 76-74 lead with five seconds left to go. An in-bounds pass by Lamb Autrey was to high, and hit the scoreboard, to secure the victory for the Jets.

Shamar Acuay led the Newman offensive attack with a career-high 20 points. Acuay was joined in double-figures by Darrell Traylor's 13 point effort. As a team, the Jets shot 42.4 percent (25-59) from the field. Newman shot 35.3 percent (6-17) from beyond the arc, with Acuay accounting for half of the team's three-pointers. The Jets escaped with the victory, despite the Rattlers knocking down 52.5 percent (31-59) of their field-goal attempts. During the game, the score was tied eight times, and saw 13 lead changes.

With the victory, Newman moves to 11-4 on the season, and 3-0 in Heartland Conference action, its best start in conference play since making the transition to Division II. The victory pushes the Jets record to 8-0 inside Fugate Gymnasium. Newman returns to action on Jan. 19, traveling to Odessa, Texas to take on Texas-Permian Basin. Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m.