TULSA, Okla. — Slugging back multiple times, the Newman men's basketball team wasn't able to match each of St. Edward's runs in the second half, falling 71-62 Friday evening in the quarterfinal round of the 2018 Heartland Conference Men's Basketball Championships.

KEY SEQUENCE

Twice cutting it to a two-point deficit, the Jets (14-14) saw the Hilltoppers (11-17) net five straight points in less than a minute to turn it into a 40-33 lead with 12:34 remaining. While the lead would hang around seven or eight the rest of the way, Newman would not get it back to one possession.

HOW IT HAPPENED

-The Jets started off strong, with Kevin Bryant answering early Hilltopper buckets, his second starting a 7-0 run by the third seed that made it a 9-4 lead at the 14:04 mark. Dametrius Walker's layup two minutes later pushed it back to a five-point lead.

-Andre Sands broke a tie with a hook shot at the midway point of the first half, and Christian DeYoung followed with a 3-pointer to make it 16-11 with 8:44 left in the half. Free throws from St. Edward's slowly chipped away at that lead, but Tyjil Hereford allowed Newman to hang on for a bit longer with a jumper inside of six minutes.

-A 5-0 run from the Hilltoppers gave the No. 6 seed just its second lead of the game, but it would also be the final lead change of the night. In all, St. Ed's put together a 12-3 run that lifted them to a 27-21 lead before Bryant ended the half with a layup to make it a four-point game at the break.

-SEU netted the first two buckets after halftime, but Damien Akao followed with a jumper, Bryant made two free throws and Sands added a layup to slash it to a two-point game. After the Hilltoppers pushed it back out to a six-point lead, Walker converted a three-point play and added another free throw later to get the Jets back within two at 35-33, but St. Edward's built its lead back up.

-The Jets chipped away just enough to put some fear in their opponent, but St. Ed's righted earlier free throw shooting troubles and went 17-of-21 in the final six minutes, despite only making one field goal and attempting three during that stretch.

NOTES

-Bryant capped his Newman career with his eighth double-double, matching Walker with a team-high 16 points and adding 11 rebounds. The senior was 7-of-12 from the field and chipped in two steals.

-Newman held the Hilltoppers to just 34.8 percent from the floor, but St. Edward's got to the line 48 times in the game, converting 36 of them to make up more than half their points.