WICHITA – The Newman men's basketball team used a 9-0 run, including seven straight points from Reggie Baker, to pull away in second overtime for a 97-90 win over William Jewell on Saturday (Dec. 13) at Fugate Gymnasium. With the exciting win, NU moved to 4-2 on the season.
 
With the score tied at 78-78 after the first overtime, the Jets started with a 9-0 spurt over the first 3 minutes. After a Ryan McCarthy layup put NU up 80-78 at the 4:34 mark, Baker scored seven consecutive points. The junior guard from Avon Park, Fla. hit a layup with 4 minutes remaining then knocked down a jumper for an 84-78 score with 2:46 left. The advantage grew to nine points with a 3-pointer from Baker at the 2:08 mark for an 87-78 score. The early run was enough as NU won, 97-90, over WJC.
 
In the first overtime, the Cardinals used a 5-0 run to take a 74-69 lead. The Jets got back into the game with four straight free throws, two each from James Pegues and McCarthy. NU went up by one, 75-74, on a Cortrael Colbert jumper with 1:41 remaining in overtime. The Jets had possession with less than 1 minute left, but WJC forced a turnover and got a breakaway dunk for a 76-75 lead with 20 seconds remaining. McCarthy responded with a 3 about 5 seconds later to put NU up, 78-76. After a missed 3, the Cardinals tipped in the miss with 4 seconds left for a 78-78 tie. The Jets missed a jumper with 1 second left to go to the second overtime.
 
The Jets looked to have control of the game with a 66-60 lead with 2:29 remaining in regulation. WJC scored four straight points for a 66-64 deficit with 1:57 left. The Cardinals hit a triple with 56 second to gain a 67-66 edge. A three-point play from Jeremy Espinoza put NU back up, 69-67. WJC knotted the score at 69-69 after a layup and was fouled; however, the Cardinals missed the free throw to keep the game tied.
 
Baker finished with a game-high 30 points, tying his career high, and added a team-high 10 rebounds for his second double-double of the season. Baker totaled 30 points and 10 rebounds on Nov. 25 against Fort Hays State. All five starters hit double figures. Jeremy Espinoza tallied 20 points and grabbed nine rebounds. Cortrael Colbert and James Pegues both finished with 16 points. McCarthy added 13 points.
 
Christa Hildebrandt scored 22 to lead WJC and pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds for a double-double. Darius Tomlin hit 20 points.
 
For the game, NU shot 43.5 percent (30-69), including 75 percent (6-8) in the second overtime. NU hit only four 3s, one in each period, and finished 4-21 (19 percent). The Jets shot 38 free throws, hitting 33 and finishing at 86.8 percent.
 
WJC finished at 40 percent (30-75) and 27.6 percent (8-29) from 3. They were only 61.1 percent (22-36) from the free throw line.
 
The Jets start Heartland Conference play on Thursday (Nov. 18), hosting St. Edward's at 7:30 p.m. inside Fugate Gymnasium. Live stats, video and audio will be available.