SAN ANTONIO — Cold-shooting and twice being the victim of big runs in the first half, the Newman men's basketball team couldn't bounce back against St. Mary's Saturday afternoon, suffering an 84-65 setback in Heartland Conference action.
KEY SEQUENCE
With the Jets (11-9, 4-8 Heartland) already answering one extended run in the game by getting back in it, the Rattlers (8-12, 4-8 Heartland) set out on another to end the first half, scoring the last eight points of the period over the final four minutes to head to the locker room with a 21-point advantage.
HOW IT HAPPENED
-James Pegues put the Jets on the board with a layup just over a minute into the game, and the second of his two free throws, following a Jalen Love lay-in, gave the Jets a 6-5 lead at the 16:47 mark of the first half.
-Taylor Schieber temporarily cut the Rattler lead back to two at 10-8 with a pair of free throws, but that only delayed a big run from the hosts, who were in the midst of an 18-2 run that saw them connect on 7-of-9 field goals to jump out to a 23-8 lead.
-Colbert and Schieber each connected on a pair of freebies to keep the deficit manageable, and Love's layup at the 11:03 mark made it 28-14. The senior followed that up just over a minute later with a 3-pointer to cut the lead to 30-17.
-That shot from beyond the arc kickstarted a 9-3 run for the Jets to pull the St. Mary's lead back to 10. Gavin Thurman hit a 3-pointer and a jumper on back-to-back possessions to make it 33-23 with 6:10 left in the half before the Rattlers went on their run before the break.
-Pegues made sure the run didn't continue after the break, grabbing his own miss and hitting a jumper to cut the lead under 20. That was the start of a 15-6 run to start the second half for the Jets, a streak that covered the first five-plus minutes of the period.
-Schieber nailed a 3-pointer and added a free throw to complete a four-point play, and Thurman added five straight points just over a minute later to cut the lead to 51-37. Free throws from Love and a layup on the fastbreak from Schieber made it a 12-point game at 53-41 with 14:28 to play.
-Christian DeYoung buried a 3-pointer then sank two free throws the next time down the court to make it a 59-46 game as the clock ticked under 13 minutes to play, but that was a close as the Jets would get the rest of the way.
NOTES
-Thurman led the way with 15 points on 6-of-15 shooting from the field, and added 10 rebounds for his third double-double of the season. It's the sixth time this season the senior has led the Jets in both categories in a game.
-Love continued his scoring streak, netting 14 to hit double digits for the fifth straight game. He shot 5-of-10 from the field, the fifth time in the past seven games that he's shot at least 50 percent. The senior also added three rebounds, an assist and two blocks.
-Schieber went for double digits for the third straight game, hitting 5-of-7 free throws to help him get to 10 points on the day. Pegues finished with nine points and four rebounds, while Cortrael Colbert added five points and a team-high three assists.
-Newman made just 18 field goals on the day, their lowest output since converting on just 14 last season at Texas A&M International. They made up part of the gap through 35 free throw attempts, of which they converted 24. The numerous trips to the line came two days after putting up 42 attempts against TAMIU Thursday.
WHAT'S NEXT
The Jets return home Thursday to face off against Oklahoma Panhandle State in a 7:30 p.m. tipoff at Fugate Gymnasium.
