WICHITA, Kan. — In a game of momentum swings, the Newman men's basketball team couldn't quite manage one big enough to top its opponent Thursday night, falling 83-73 to Lubbock Christian in Heartland Conference action at Fugate Gymnasium.
KEY SEQUENCE
The Jets (8-11, 4-4 Heartland) twice got it down to a five-point margin in the last four minutes of the game against the Chaparrals (9-10, 5-3 Heartland), but LCU didn't let it go farther than that, as Marcos Schuster went 10-for-10 and the Chaps 14-for-15 from the line down the stretch to hold off any comeback.
HOW IT HAPPENED
-Tim Troussel netted the first bucket of the game to give the Jets the early lead, and later converted a three-point play to tie it up at 5-5 just over three minutes in. Dametrius Walker sliced it to a three-point LCU advantage with a 3-pointer at the 11:51 mark of the first half, but the Chaps answered with a 9-2 run to quickly turn that into a 24-14 lead.
-Newman came right back with a 9-2 run of its own, as Walker connected on another trey after buckets from Ben Ayre and Andre Sands to once again make it a three-point game at 26-23 with 6:51 on the clock. That was part of a larger 20-10 run for the Jets that tied it at 34-all after a Troussel basket with 2:24 left before the break. Ayre nailed a 3-pointer in the final minute to keep it a five-point game at intermission.
-A layup from Bryant started the second-half scoring, but the guests netted the next seven points to turn it back into a double-digit lead. That margin bounced between 11 and eight through the first 10 minutes after the break, with neither team putting together consecutive makes. Tyjil Hereford and Sands finally did for the Jets, making it a 61-56 game with 8:16 left to play.
-The Chaps managed to net the next six points to take it right back to an 11-point margin, but a big stick-back dunk from Sands and a pair of Ayre free throws helped cut it back down to six. The final five minutes crawled to a halt, as just two field goals were made and 27 free throws attempted. Ayre and Bryant made those shots from the floor, and Ayre added six free throws, but it wouldn't be enough.
NOTES
-Ayre led the way with a team-high 19 points, including a 10-for-10 night from the charity stripe. It's the third time this season he's made double-digit free throws. He also added four rebounds and three assists.
-Walker hit 4-of-6 from deep on his way to 14 points, while Troussell added 10 points and seven rebounds.
WHAT'S NEXT
The Jets kick off the second half of the conference season Saturday afternoon, welcoming Oklahoma Christian to Fugate Gymnasium.
