LUBBOCK, Texas — Four different players scored in double figures, but the Newman men's basketball team wasn't able to get the final sprint in a game of runs, falling 73-66 to Lubbock Christian in Heartland Conference play Thursday night.
KEY SEQUENCE
A one-point lead for the Jets (9-4, 2-3 Heartland) fell away early in the second half, as the Chaparrals (9-4, 3-2 Heartland) ran off 10 of the next 12 points to take a lead they would not give up the rest of the way.
HOW IT HAPPENED
-Trailing 4-1 early in the contest, the Jets ran off eight straight points, with senior Cortrael Colbert knocking town the team's first field goal and junior Jarvis Williams hitting back-to-back 3-pointers to make it 9-4 with 16:43 left in the opening half.
-Five points on a layup and a trey from senior Gavin Thurman made it a 13-1 run for the guests, who went up by nine at 14-5 at the 16:15 mark.
-The Chaparrals shot ahead 22-17 over the next 10 minutes, but the Jets cut the momentum short starting with a pair of free throws from senior James Pegues, followed by a 3-pointer out of senior Jalen Love to make things 22-22 with 5:40 left in the half.
-The Jets sank three straight free throws to tie things up once again at 27-all with 4:17 to play before hosts netted seven straight points, a run that was ended when Williams hit a bucket in the final seconds before the break.
-A 7-2 run to start the second half was bolstered by a Colbert 3-pointer between baskets from Pegues and Williams and drew things back to even for the first time in nearly six minutes. A free throw by Thurman gave the Jets the lead once again at 37-36 with 17:16 to play.
-The game of runs continued as LCU rambled off eight straight to go back ahead by seven with 14:10 to go. Two foul shots from junior Taylor Schieber cut that lead to five, and another freebie with 12:08 to go made it 46-40.
-After the Chaps stretched the lead to double digits, Love connected on shots on two straight possessions to cut the lead to 50-44.
-Free throws from Thurman and a layup by Pegues made it a four-point game with 4:44 to go. A 3-pointer from the Chaps pushed the advantage back out to seven as the clock ticked under four minutes to go, but Williams hit a big triple to make it 63-59 with 3:24 on the clock.
-As the hosts were trying to hold their lead at the free throw line, Williams once again came up big, launching an off-balance 3-pointer to make it a four-point game once again, but LCU sank three more free throws to halt the comeback attempt.
NOTES
-Williams put up a team-high 16 points, going 6-of-12 overall and 4-of-9 from beyond the arc. Thurman added 12 points and four rebounds, Colbert 11 points and three boards and Pegues 10 points, five rebounds and three assists.
-Sophomore Kevin Bryant hit his only field goal attempt of the game and pulled in a team-high seven rebounds, his fifth time over the past seven games he's posted seven or more boards.
-It was Williams' fourth double-digit scoring game in his last seven times out, and the first time he led the Jets in scoring since going for 22 against Texas A&M-Commerce on Nov. 14.
-Newman shot 20-of-50 from the field, keeping its run of shooting 40 percent going at 12 of the Jets' 13 games this season.
WHAT'S NEXT
The Jets look to get back on the winning track, heading to Oklahoma Panhandle State for a 3 p.m. tipoff Saturday.
