LAREDO, Texas — Learning from an overtime loss the last time out, the Newman men's basketball team responded to a late challenge to escape with an 86-85 win over Texas A&M International Saturday in Heartland Conference action.

KEY SEQUENCE

The Jets (7-9, 4-2 Heartland) watched as their nearly game-long lead was chipped away at by the Dustdevils (7-10, 0-5 Heartland), leading to the hosts taking a late lead. Senior Kevin Bryant wouldn't settle, slashing in for the go-ahead layup, then drawing a charge on the other end as Newman held on for the victory.

HOW IT HAPPENED

-Christian DeYoung and Damien Akao each hit early 3-pointers to give the Jets a quick 6-2 lead. The Dustdevils twice went back in front on baskets from Kamari Robinson and Jeremy Wright, but Dametrius Walker and DeAndre Johnson each sank baskets to push Newman back ahead 17-14 near the midway point of the opening half.

-Each team went on runs over the next six minutes, with the Jets bolting out to an eight-point lead on an Andre Sands dunk, TAMIU answering with a 5-0 run to get back within one possession, and Newman pushing it to a 32-21 lead with an 8-0 spurt. One again though, the Dustdevils responded, cutting it to three before Johnson hit a jumper in the final seconds to make it 40-35 at the break.

-The lead bounced between seven and two for the bulk of the first 10 minutes out of intermission, with Bryant hitting a pair of 3-pointers and Akao adding another to help take it from a 51-50 lead out to 60-52 with 12:05 on the clock. An 8-2 run by the Jets was capped by four straight points from Walker to push the lead to nine with eight minutes to play.

-From there, while Newman was still able to hit shots, TAMIU got hot, hitting 9-of-12 from the field to chip away at the lead until back-to-back 3-pointers tied things up as the clock ticked up two minutes.. After an Akao triple, the Dustdevils tied it up again with a three-point play, and took their first lead in over 31 minutes on a Wright 3-pointer before Bryant's heroics.

NOTES

-Walker was a tidy 8-for-11 from the field to lead the Jets with 22 points, his third game in the past five with at least 20 points.

-Akao followed up his career-high 18 points Thursday against St. Mary's by going for 20 on Saturday. The senior was a perfect 6-for-6 from 3-point range and 7-of-8 from the field.

-With the win, the Jets sit alone in second place in the Heartland Conference standings.

WHAT'S NEXT

The Jets make the trek back to Wichita to play their final nonconference game of the season Thursday against Kansas Wesleyan at Fugate Gymnasium.