WICHITA, Kan. — Holding on through a challenge in the second half, the Newman men's basketball team roared out to a healthy lead to pick up an 80-70 victory over Northwestern Oklahoma State in nonconference action Saturday afternoon at Fugate Gymnasium.

KEY SEQUENCE

Despite trailing for just one possession over the final 33 minutes of the game, the Jets (5-5) were locked in a tight one, up by just one with 5:04 to play against the Rangers (6-2). The hosts answered with a 9-0 run though, getting baskets from Tim Troussel, Christian DeYoung and Dametrius Walker to turn it into a 71-61 lead with 73 seconds to go.

HOW IT HAPPENED

-DeYoung and Kevin Bryant each nailed a 3-pointer to shoot the Jets out to an 8-2 advantage in the first three minutes. The Rangers used a 6-0 run to take a brief 13-12 lead, but Walker tied it and then pushed Newman ahead on a pair of free throws. That started a 14-3 run by the Jets, with Damien Akao chipping in a pair of 3-pointers to make it a 26-16 lead with 8:57 to go in the opening half.

-The two teams played even throughout the rest of the first half, trading baskets as Newman held on to a lead of at least seven points. Ben Ayre turned that into a 12-point lead at 42-30 31 seconds after intermission.

-Kevin Bryant turned it back into a 12-point lead with a bucket a minute later, but the Rangers responded with a 6-0 run to cut their deficit in half. That got sliced down to four at 50-46, and the guests later reeled off a 7-0 run to take their only lead of the second half at 53-52 at the 11:51 mark.

-The Jets halted that run with a 6-0 burst of their own, with Troussel and Tyjil Hereford chipping in baskets, but NWOSU tied it up on a Greg Minor 3-pointer. Newman shot back out with its big 9-0 run, and made 9-of-10 at the free throw line down the stretch to ease to the win.

NOTES

-The Jets have won three straight as they pulled back to .500 on the season.

-Five Newman players reached double figures in scoring on the day, led by Walker's 17 points. Bryant turned in his first double-double of the season with 12 points and 10 rebounds.

WHAT'S NEXT

The Jets get nine days off before heading to Fort Hays State for a nonconference matchup on Dec. 18.