Box Score TAHLEQUAH, Okla. - A combination of cold shooting, one of the the worst rebounding efforts of the season, and a red-hot Northeastern State squad resulted in a 71-48 loss for the Newman men's basketball team Wednesday evening. Eric Saunders scored 12 points to lead the Jets in the loss.

Northeastern State (3-12) started the game on a tear, scoring the first six points of the contest, and forcing Newman (8-4) to play from an early deficit. Making his first start of the season, Josh Pleasant scored Newman's first bucket of the game, but it wasn't enough to slow down the Riverhawks. NSU extended its lead to 10-2 at the 16:34 mark, and looked to be in complete control of the contest. That's when Shamar Acuay stepped in. Less than 20 seconds after he entered the game, Acuay scored his first bucket of the game. The junior guard went on to score seven-straight points to keep Newman in the game, but the Riverhawks refused to die. NSU held a 19-9 lead at the 13-minute mark before Eric Saunders sank a lay-up that sparked an 8-0 Newman run that pulled the Jets to within two, 19-17, after a Josh Pleasant jumper at the 10:21 mark. Newman had pulled to within one, 23-22, after Saunders converted a steal into a dunk with 4:59 remaining, but Northeastern State answered with a 9-0 run to regain a 32-22 advantage with 1:38 to play in the period. The Jets scored the final four points of the half, but trailed at halftime, 32-26.

It took Northeastern State less than three minutes to regain a double-digit lead in the second half. The Riverhawks caught fire from long range, and had built a 45-32 lead by the 14:15 mark of the half, and held a double digit lead until the 11:12 mark when Mason Felter sank a lay-up to pull Newman back to within 49-40.  But that didn't seem to phase NSU, who remained hot from beyond the arc. The Riverhawks led by as many as 23 in the second half, and held off Newman for the 71-48 win.

Eric Saunders scored a team-high 12 points for Newman, and was the only Jet to finish with double figures in any category. Shamar Acuay added nine points, while Josh Pleasant scored eight in his first start of the season. Saunders and Chuck Coley grabbed six rebounds a piece to lead Newman.

Northeastern State's John Schneider scored 17 points to lead all scorers.

As a team, Newman shot 36.4 percent (20-55) from the field, and 7.7 percent (1-13) from long range. The Jets were out-rebounded 41-29.

With the loss, the Jets fall to 8-4 on the season. They will return to action Saturday, opening Heartland Conference play by hosting Arkansas-Fort Smith. Tip-time is slated for 12 p.m. inside Fugate Gymnasium.