Box Score AUSTIN, Texas – St. Edward's ended any chance the Newman men's basketball team had of winning a share of the Heartland Conference Regular Season Championship, downing the Jets 92-85 on Saturday (March 2). The Jets end the regular season with a 20-6 overall record and finish tied for second in the Heartland Conference with a 9-5 record.
 
The Jets trailed by only two, 76-74 at the 3:48 mark after a 3-pointer from Trae Beck. SEU's Shimeek Johnson extended the Hilltopper lead back to five with a 3 of his own and a 79-74 score with 3:20 left. Darrell Traylor pulled NU to within three at 79-76 with 1:57 left, but Johnson once again responded, scoring on a dunk at 1:45 for a 81-76 SEU lead. Five points were as close as the Jets could get as SEU made enough free throws to put the game away, 92-85.
 
After being down 50-45 at halftime, the Jets scored the first seven points of the second half to take a 52-50 advantage on two Bobby Wesley free throws with 18:20 remaining. With the Jets down 62-61, SEU opened up a five-point advantage, 66-61, with a jumper from Johnson at the 9:38 mark.
 
Johnson gave the Hilltoppers a 76-68 lead with a three-point play with 5:07 remaining. Two straight Jet 3-pointers brought NU to within two at 76-74, but the Jets could not get any closer.
 
In the first half, SEU doubled up the Jets, 12-6, in the first 4 minutes on two Johnson free throws. Baskets by Shamar Acuay and Ryan McCarthy cut the score to 15-12, but Johnson pushed back with five points and Jeff Campbell made a 3 to put SEU up 23-14 with 12:45 left in the first half. A quick 11-2 run tied the game at 25-25 for NU with 9:47 left. The Jets led 33-30 on two Frankie Drayton three throws, but then Johnson responded with a personal 8-0 run for a 38-33 SEU advantage at 5:04 of the first half. The Jets trailed by a five-point margin at halftime, 50-45.
 
Despite playing only 13 minutes, Shamar Acuay scored a team-high 20 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the field. The senior guard went 8-of-10 from the three throw line. Marquis Cuyler put in 15 points, and Trae Beck hit three 3s and finished with 13 points. Darrell Traylor also totaled 13 points. The Jets shot 45.1 percent (23-51) and hit 34-of-45 free throws (75.6 percent).
 
St. Edward's Shimeek Johnson poured in a game-high 38 points on 15-of-23 shooting, including 4-of-8 from 3-point range. He totaled a double-double as he grabbed 13 rebounds. Jeff Campbell scored 20 points.
 
The Hilltoppers went 30-of-65 from the field (46.2 percent) and pulled down 42 rebounds, including 18 offensive rebounds. The Jets finished with 30 rebounds.
 
The Jets prepare for the Heartland Conference Tournament, hosted by regular season champion Arkansas-Fort Smith. Newman will play St. Mary's in the semifinals on Friday (March 8) with the conference tournament championship game set for Saturday (March 9).