WICHITA- The Newman men's basketball team received help with a combined 47 points out of its starters, as the Jets prevailed over Arkansas-Fort Smith, 84-67, in their Heartland Conference opener on Saturday. Eric Saunders paced the Newman offense with 19 points, while three other players scored in double-figures.

In a game that was chippy from the opening-tip, both teams fought back and forth, as neither team led by more than six points in the opening half. Against a high-powered Arkansas-Fort Smith offense, the Jets held the Lions to 28 first-half points on five field goals. Both teams spent much of the half at the charity stripe, combining for 30 free-throw attempts. Newman attempted more than twice as many field-goal attempts in the first period (44) then UAFS, but the Lions shot 89.5 percent (17-19) from the free-throw line to only trail 34-28 at intermission.

The second half seen much of the same firepower as the first period. The Jets scored five points in the first minute of the period, extending their lead to 39-30, after an Eric Saunders three-pointer. UAFS kept knocking on the door, scoring six unanswered baskets, highlighted by a Jake Toupal layup, trimming the Newman lead to 39-36 at the 17:44 mark. Toupal finished the afternoon with seven points, six points below his 13 point-per game average. At the 8:14 mark, the Jets finally grabbed firm control of the ball-game, following a pair of Josh Pleasant free-throws, widening their lead to 64-56. During the final seven minutes of the game, five Jets scored baskets to close out the victory.

-Newman used a different starting line-up (Grant, Wesley, Coley, Felter, Saunders) for only the second time all season.

-Saunders (19), Josh Pleasant (15), Shamar Acuay (13), and Bobby Wesley (12) all scored in double-figures for the Jets. UAFS's Djordje Stojanovic led all scorers with 20 points.

-Newman shot 47.3 percent (26-55) from the field, but only connected on 18.8 pecent (3-16) of its three-point attempts.

-The Jets held a Lions offense that has scored over 100 points in three games to just 68 points, on 34.9 percent (15-43) from the field, and 14.3 percent (1-7) from long range.

-Between Newman and UAFS, the teams shot a combined 91 free-throws.

-The game saw seven ties, and 11 lead changes.

With the victory, the Jets move to 9-4 on the season, and a 6-0 mark at home. Newman returns to action on Jan. 12, when Texas A&M International visits Wichita. Tip-time is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. inside Fugate Gymnasium.