ODESSA, Texas – The Newman men's basketball team needed overtime to take down Texas-Permian Basin, 98-94, on Thursday (Feb. 26) at the Falcon Dome. With the win, the Jets moved into a tie for fourth place with the Falcons in the race for the Heartland Conference Tournament. NU currently owns the tiebreaker, going 2-0 against UTPB this season.
 
St. Mary's has clinched the No. 1 seed with a 14-5 conference record. Tied for the No. 2 seed are UA Fort Smith and St. Edward's at 12-7. The Jets and Falcons are currently 11-8 in the conference.
 
With the score tied at 81-81 after regulation, the Jets started overtime with an 11-4 run to pull out to a seven point advantage at 92-85. Reggie Baker started overtime with a steal and fastbreak layup for an 83-81 NU edge. After one UTPB free throw, James Pegues hit a 3 to put the Jets up by four at 86-82 with 3:38 left.
 
NU was in front by two at 86-84 with 3 minutes left after a UTPB layup then the Jets scored three consecutive layups. Jeremy Espinoza made it 88-84 with 2:43 left with lay in. After one Falcon free throw, Pegues scored inside with 2:04 remaining for a 90-85 advantage. Baker increased the margin to seven points with his own layup at the 1:30 mark for a 92-85 score.
 
The Falcons didn't go away as Chris Griffin knocked down a 3 with 1:19 left. A tip-in basket with 1:06 left cut the UTPB deficit to two points at 92-90 with 1:06 remaining.
 
Baker hit a key jumper with 38 seconds left to increase the Jet lead to four at 94-90.
 
UTPB missed a 3 on their next possession, and Ryan McCarthy was fouled with 16 seconds remaining. A 90 percent free throw shooter, McCarthy missed the one-and-one, and UTPB got the rebound.
 
The Falcons cut the deficit to one point on a 3-pointer from Madison Turner with 9 seconds left. McCarthy was fouled against; however, he made both attempts for a 96-93 NU lead with 7 seconds remaining.
 
Needing a 3 to tie, the Falcons were fouled. Turner made the first to cut the margin to two points, but missed the second, and Espinoza grabbed the rebound with 6 seconds left.
 
Espinoza hit two free throws with 4 seconds left to put NU up by two possessions, 98-94. The Falcons last second 3-point attempt missed, and the Jets hung on for the 98-94 win.
 
McCarthy and Baker both scored a game-high 24 points. Baker added a game-high 10 rebounds for a double-double. McCarthy shot 8-of-12 from the field and went 4-of-6 from 3. Baker went 10-of-21 from the field. Espinoza tallied 21 points and eight rebounds. Cortrael Colbert had 14 points and a team-high four assists.
 
The Jets shot 50 percent (38-76) from the field, including 75 percent (6-8) in overtime. NU went 7-of-17 from 3 for 41.2 percent. The Jets finished at 93.8 percent (15-16) from the free throw line, making 11 straight at one point until McCarthy missed one with 16 seconds left in overtime.
 
Scooter Holmes totaled a team-high 19 points for UTPB. Five Falcons scored in double figures.
 
The Falcons finished at 43.9 percent (36-82) from the field. UTPB shot 50 percent (19-38) in the first half, but only 38.2 percent (13-34) in the second half. They went 4-of-10 (40 percent) in overtime. The Falcons struggled from the free throw line, going 10-of-17 for 58.8 percent.
 
NU can clinch a spot in the Heartland Conference Tournament on Saturday (Feb. 28) when the Jets take on St. Edward's at 3 p.m. in Austin, Texas.