WICHITA – The Newman men's basketball team fell behind by 11 points at halftime, and the Jets couldn't overcome the deficit, falling 76-69 to Lubbock Christian on Thursday (Jan. 8) at Fugate Gymnasium. The Jets dropped to 5-6 and 1-4 in the Heartland Conference. LCU moved to 7-4 and a perfect 4-0 in conference play.
 
The Chaps scored four layups in the first 2 minutes of the game to pull out to an 8-2 advantage. The Jets cut the deficit to one point at 12-11 after three layups and a Reggie Baker 3-pointer. With NU trailing by five at 19-14 with 10:29 remaining in the half, James Pegues knocked down a triple, and Cortrael Colbert made a layup at the 9:35 mark for a 19-19 tie. Baker put the Jets in front with a layup, and a free throw made it 22-19 with 7 minutes remaining before halftime.
 
With the Chaps already up by three points at 28-25 with 3 minutes left in the half, LCU ended the final 3 minutes on an 8-0 run to take a 36-25 lead after the first 20 minutes.
 
Early in the second half with the Jets still trailing by 12 points at 39-27, NU went on a 18-2 run to take a 45-41 advantage with 13:08 remaining. Jeremy Espinoza hit two free throws to start the run, and a McCarthy 3 cut the deficit to seven points at 39-32. After layups from Colbert and Pegues, McCarthy hit from deep again for a 41-39 score with 15:17. Pegues pulled NU to within one with a free throw, and Kramer Ammons put NU up at 42-41. Espinoza gave NU a four-point lead with a three-point play for a 45-41 edge.
 
With the Jets holding a slight 61-60 edge, LCU's A.J. Luckey was fouled on a 3-pointer and hit all three free throws to give LCU a 63-61 lead with 4:11 remaining. The Chaps pushed the advantage to four points at 65-61 with 3:18 left after a layup.
 
Two Baker free throws pulled NU to within three points at 70-67 with 1:31 remaining. After a LCU turnover, Baker had a shot to tie the score, but his 3 missed with 42 seconds remaining.
 
The Chaps made four straight free throws to gain a 74-67 lead with 15 seconds left. After a Colbert layup, LCU hit two more free throws for the final 76-69 score.
 
Baker, a junior from Avon Park, Fla., poured in a game-high and team-high 19 points. He added six rebounds and four steals. A total of five Jets scored in double figures. James Pegues added 14 points and five rebounds. Cortrael Colbert poured in 13 points in 27 minutes off the bench. Ryan McCarthy tallied 10 points, and Jeremy Espinoza nearly hit a double-double, totaling 11 points and eight rebounds.
 
After struggling to shoot the ball in the first half, NU shot 48.1 percent (13-27) in the second half. With the 32.3 shooting percentage (10-31) in the first half, the Jets finished at 39.7 percent (23-58) from the field. NU hit only six 3s and shot 24 percent (6-25) from long distance.
 
The Chaps held a huge advantage in free throw shooting, hitting 92.9 percent (26-28) from the line. The Jets shot 58.6 percent (17-29) from the free throw line.
 
LCU outrebounded the Jets by 20, getting 47 rebounds to 27 from NU. The Chaps totaled 14 offensive rebounds.
 
The Jets forced LCU into 20 turnovers. NU tallied 13 steals, including four from McCarthy and Baker. The Jets committed only nine turnovers in the game.
 
For the game, LCU shot 41.8 percent (23-55) from the field. In the first stanza, the Chaps shot 55.6 percent (15-27). The NU defense held LCU to 28.6 percent (8-28) in the second half.
 
Matthew Alford totaled a double-double of 19 points and 12 rebounds, including five offensive rebounds. A.J. Luckey scored 18 points, and Isaac Cardona added 16 points with most of those points coming on layups in the early stage of the game.
 
The Jets are back in action on Saturday (Jan. 10) at Fugate Gymnasium against Oklahoma Panhandle State. Tip-off is set for 3 p.m. Live stats, video and audio will be available for the game.