WICHITA – The No. 25-ranked St. Edward's Hilltoppers outscored Newman, 43-28, in the second half to defeat the Jets, 71-62, on Thursday (Dec. 18) at Fugate Gymnasium. The Jets dropped to 4-3 and 0-1 in the Heartland Conference. SEU moved to 10-0 and 2-0 in the conference.
 
NU built a 17-point lead in the first 15 minutes of the game. A 3-pointer from Sean Mcihaelson with 4:23 gave the Jets their largest lead at 29-12. Senior Ryan McCarthy fueled the strong start with four 3-pointers. In the first half, NU hit six 3-pointers and shot 54.5 percent (6-11) from long range.
 
With the Jets up 31-14, the Hilltoppers ended the half with a 14-3 run to only trail by six, 34-28, after the first stanza.
 
In the second half, SEU started the half with another spurt, a 19-4 run in the first 6 minutes. The Hilltoppers were in front 47-38 with 13:42 remaining after the total run of 33-7 over the two halves.
 
The Jets trailed by 10, 55-45, with 7:29 left, but cut the deficit to three points at 56-53 with an 8-1 run. The spurt started with a McCarthy three-point play, and a layup by Cortrael Colbert and one free throw by Reggie Baker made it a four-point game at 55-51. Jeremy Espinoza hit a jumper for a 56-53 score.
 
SEU scored on their next possession for a five point lead at 58-53, and the Jets cut it down to three again at 58-55 with 4:10 left after two Colbert free throws. The Hilltoppers scored the next seven points to put the game away at 65-55 with 1:26 remaining. SEU held the lead for the final 71-62 score.
 
McCarthy finished with a game-high 17 points on 4-of-6 shooting from 3. Colbert added 15 points. Espinoza was one rebound from a double-double with 11 points and nine rebounds. Baker, who averaged 23.3 points per game before tonight, was limited to only five points. He played only 3 minutes in the first half due to foul trouble.
 
After shooting 41.4 percent (12-29) in the first half, NU shot 28 percent (7-25) in the second half to finish at 35.2 percent (19-54) from the field. In the second half, the Jets hit only one 3-pointer after hitting 6-of-11 in the first stanza.
 
The Hilltoppers shot 52 percent (13-25) in the second half. They totaled a 40.7 percent night from the field.
 
Frankie Mgbolu scored a team-high 16 points, eight rebounds and five assists. John Gramlich totaled 14 points, including two 3s. Harley Nussman tallied 12 points and eight rebounds. Also in double figures was Ramir Burton with 12 points.
 
The Jets continue conference action on Saturday (Dec. 20) with Texas-Permian Basin at 3 p.m. at Fugate Gymnasium.