OKLAHOMA CITY — Making big plays down the stretch, the Newman men's basketball team stayed unbeaten in Heartland Conference play with a late comeback to top Oklahoma Christian 83-82 Saturday afternoon.

KEY SEQUENCE

The Jets (4-5, 2-0 Heartland) put together a 12-2 run over the final two minutes to erase a seven-point lead for the Eagles (2-5, 0-1 Heartland). Ben Ayre scored 10 of those 12 points, going 8-for-8 at the free throw line to make it a three-point lead for the Jets with 24 seconds left. The final sequence saw the Eagles with a chance to inbound on their own end and hit a buzzer-beater, but Andre Sands didn't allow a shot to get off under the basket.

HOW IT HAPPENED

-A wild first 12 minutes of the game got started with an OC basket, followed by Christian DeYoung nailing a 3-pointer off a feed from Tim Troussel 49 seconds in. DeYoung and Ayre nailed back-to-back triples a few minutes later, before the teams traded baskets until the Eagles held a 20-19 lead at the 7:50 mark.

-Ayre had his hand in all seven points of a 7-0 run, assisting a Sands basket, then tailing a 3-pointer and a jumper to make it 26-20. OC went on an 8-2 run to tie things up, but the Jets did not trail the rest of the first half.

-A 12-3 burst from the Jets spanning the halftime break saw Ayre and DeYoung hit 3-pointers and DeAndre Johnson and Troussel add layups to make it 42-33. That advantage extended to 11 at 49-38 with 16:55 on the clock. Runs of 11-1 and 9-1 by the hosts turned things back in their favor, turning it into a 70-64 game at the 7:56 mark.

-Johnson put back an offensive rebound to stop the latter run by the Eagles on the next possession, and although OC would convert on free throws over the next 90 seconds, the Jets would hang on in order to make their final big run possible.

NOTES

-The Jets pushed five into double figures in scoring, led by Ayre, whose 26 points is the new single-game high for the Jets this season, topping his 25 against Pittsburg State Nov. 21. The junior added four assists and three rebounds.

-DeYoung added 14 points on 3-of-6 from beyond the arc and a 5-of-6 performance at the line. Dametrius Walker (15), Johnson (10) and Sands (10) were the other in double figures.

-It is the second straight season Newman has started Heartland Conference play 2-0.

WHAT'S NEXT

The Jets, get a week off before returning to nonconference play, hosting Northwestern Oklahoma State Dec. 9.