CLAREMORE, Okla. — James Pegues put up a career-high 29 points but a hot shooting night from Rogers State was too much for the Newman men's basketball team to overcome in a 94-78 loss Saturday afternoon in Heartland Conference action
KEY SEQUENCE
After sticking around for the first eight minutes of the second half, a pair of free throws from Pegues made it a nine-point game at 64-55 with 11:39 to play for the Jets (), but the Hillcats () rattled off the next eight points over three-plus minutes to take control, and would lead by no fewer than 14 the rest of the way.
HOW IT HAPPENED
-Pegues netted the first six points of the game for the Jets, the last two coming on a pair of free throws that made it 7-6 just under three minutes in. A 3-pointer from Jalen Love less than a minute later cut the lead to one once again before RSU ran off seven straight points.
-A three-point play by Gavin Thurman at the 11:35 mark made it 19-15 in favor of the hosts, and the Jets reeled off an 11-2 run after the Hillcats pushed the lead to double digits to make it a one-point game once again. A pair of 3-pointers from Thurman bookended the streak, which saw Pegues add a trey and Daniel Nwosu hit a pair of free throws.
-A Nwosu jumper followed 22 seconds later by a Christian DeYoung 3-pointer off a feed from Love made it a 32-31 game with 5:42 left in the opening half, and a layup from DeYoung after a Kevin Bryant offensive rebound at the 3:49 mark made it 36-33.
-Love dished to Pegues inside to start the second half, and Pegues made it 2-for-2 to start the period with another layup with 19:06 on the clock to make it 43-40. A three-point play from Pegues gave him seven points in the first two minutes of the half, and cut the Hillcat advantage to 45-43.
-The hosts began to stretch the lead from there, with Love popping a 3-pointer on the fastbreak to make it 58-48 with 14:12 to go. A three-point play out of Pegues and a jumper from Nwosu each brought the lead back into single digits over the next two minutes, but after Pegues netted his two free throws to make it a nine-point lead again, the Hillcats went on their run.
-Back-to-back buckets from Bryant made it a 14-point game with 6:52 to play, and Travis Matthews converted on four free throws within 21 seconds late in the game to bring the margin back to 14 as well.
NOTES
-Pegues shot 8-of-11 from the floor and 12-of-14 from the line to record his highest scoring output in his two years at Newman, which went with a pair of steals. His 29-point effort is the third highest this season for the Jets. It's the second straight game the senior set a new season high, and his sixth 20-point game of the year.
-Bryant put up double-digit points for the first time this year, shooting 4-of-6 to finish with 10 points to go with four rebounds, two steals, an assist and a block. Thurman put up 11 points and matched Bryant with a team-high four boards, while Nwosu netted nine points and Love scored six and added four assists.
WHAT'S NEXT
The Jets return home for an action-packed homecoming week to close the season, hosting Texas-Permian Basin Thursday at 7:30 p.m.
