WICHITA, Kan. — Hanging on through a late challenge, the Newman men's basketball team remained unbeaten in Heartland Conference play with a 89-78 victory over Rogers State Thursday night at Fugate Gymnasium.

KEY SEQUENCE

Leading by five as the clock ticked under eight minutes to play in the opening half, the Jets (6-7, 3-0 Heartland) picked up a three-point play from Tim Troussel, back-to-back layups out of Ben Ayre and a four-point play from Dametrius Walker to put together a 12-point run. That boosted their lead over the Hillcats (9-5, 0-2 Heartland) to 17, and Newman led by at least three possessions the rest of the way.

HOW IT HAPPENED

-Following a bucket from Rogers State to open the game, the Jets reeled off eight straight points to move ahead, including two straight 3-pointers out of Christian DeYoung. That turned into a 13-3 run for Newman to turn it into a 13-5 lead six minutes in.

-The Hillcats climbed back in it though, making it 15-12 by the midway point of the first half. Troussel followed with two layups in 30 seconds to stop the run, and his three-point play got the key run going two minutes later. RSU would score six straight after that to make it an 11-point game, but 3-pointers from Damien Akao and Cameron Goldfinch helped make it a 44-28 lead at the break.

-RSU used an 8-3 run early in the second half to pull back in it, but Newman kept its lead in double digits with a layup from Walker and four straight points out of Kevin Bryant. Walker and Ayre each canned a pair of free throws to push the lead out to the largest of the game for the Jets at 76-57 with 5:35 to play.

-The Hillcats wouldn't go quietly, running off eight straight over a 64-second span to make it an 11-point game, and a 5-0 run with less than two minutes to play took it to less than 10 for the first time since early in the first half. The Jets would go 10-for-10 from the free throw line to close out the victory.

NOTES

-Newman is 3-0 in Heartland Conference play for the first time since the 2012-13 season. The Jets started conference play 5-0 that year, and reached the NCAA tournament.

-Ayre turned in a game-high 23 points, including a perfect 11-for-11 night at the line. Walker added 19 points, and Bryant turned in his second double-double of the night with 12 points and 14 rebounds.

WHAT'S NEXT

The Jets kick off a three-game road trip, beginning a Saturday at Arkansas-Fort Smith.