AUSTIN, Texas — Able to answer on multiple occasions, the Newman men's basketball team fell just short from doing so again late, dropping a 109-103 game on the road at St. Edward's in Heartland Conference action Saturday afternoon.
KEY SEQUENCE
The Jets (6-13, 4-6 Heartland) ran right with the Hilltoppers (15-9, 7-4 Heartland) during a wild start to the second half, taking a 73-72 lead with 13:28 to play, but St. Edward's answered with back-to-back buckets, and followed that with 3-pointers on three straight possessions that pushed the lead out to 85-75.
HOW IT HAPPENED
-A Daniel Green bucket gave the Jets the first points of the game, and Taylor Schieber's layup two minutes in tied things at 4-4 before the Hilltoppers took the lead, building it as high as nine early.
-A 7-0 burst out of Newman put them right back into the game, as Daniel Nwosu hit a 3-pointer and added two free throws to key the run. It was part of a bigger 12-3 run after Green laid one in and Allen Wilson added a 3-pointer off a Damien Akao assist to tie it up a 25-25 at the 9:52 mark.
-The Toppers took the lead back on the next possession, but it remained a close one, as Kevin Bryant's 3-pointer, and later a tip-in, both cut the lead to two. A foul-filled next few minutes led to tons of free throws, but Green and Akao each hit a pair to make it a 41-40 game with 4:40 left in the half.
-St. Edward's broke a streak of over two minutes without a field goal for either team with a 9-1 run that pushed the lead to double digits for the first time, but Green added a layup and Nwosu hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to make it 54-49 at the break.
-The second half opened with both teams on fire offensively. Green's dunk and free throw made it 56-54 early, and Nwosu drilled a 3-pointer followed less than a minute later by a Wilson layup to tie things at 61-all just over three minutes into the period.
-St. Edward's went out on an 8-2 run to go up again, but Nwosu connected twice from deep to draw even at 69-69 at the 14:34 mark, and Jacob Birnbaum's jumper gave the Jets their first lead since the first minute of the game at 73-72 with 13:28 on the clock.
-After the hosts' big run to retake the lead, Schieber hit a pair of 3-pointers around a Hilltopper basket and Bryant hit a pair of free throws to cut it to 89-84, but another 7-0 spurt from St. Edward's pushed the lead back out to 12 with 5:45 to play.
-The Jets sliced the lead to five late, as Schieber hit a layup and later converted on a pair of free throws to make it 103-98, but the Hilltoppers managed to make enough free throws to hold off any comeback.
LEADERS
Newman
Points: Nwosu 29. Rebounds: Bryant 11. Assists: Nwosu 5. Steals: Schieber, Nwosu, Christian DeYoung 1. Blocks: Green 1.
St. Edward's
Points: John Gramlich 29. Rebounds: Ethan Gilbert 7. Assists: Sean Watkins 7. Steals: Watkins 3. Blocks: Gilbert, Cory McKendree 2.
NOTES
-Both Bryant and Green finished with double-doubles for the Jets, as Bryant netted 21 points to go with his 11 rebounds, and Green chipped in 19 points and 10 boards. Each also pulled down five offensive rebounds, as Newman collected 13 off the offensive glass.
-Nwosu put up a game-high 29 points, shooting 10-of-19 from the field. It was the senior's sixth game with at least 21 points in his past eight outings.
WHAT'S NEXT
The Jets head home for a busy week, starting Monday with a rescheduled game against Lubbock Christian.
