WICHITA - Men's Basketball opened their 2023/24 season at home on Saturday night, taking on Concordia St. Paul in a thrilling game in Fugate Gymnasium that tore down the house.
The two teams had opened the season against each other for the past two years, with each one grabbing a victory. This would be the rubber match between RJ Allen and his alma mater.
Stevie Smith opened up the game hitting the first shot of the contest from three, which seemed to set the pace for the rest of the night as both teams went into the game at a break neck pace.
It seemed that the Golden Bears had a response for every Jet attack, as both would break away slightly before the other would come back and tie up the game.
Stevie Strong and
Latik Murphy both hit big three's in the first half as they game showed no signs of slowing down.
The game was nearly deadlocked at half, with the Golden Bears leading by just 2 points at the break.
CSP looked like they would be the team to break away first, going up by as many as twelve.
Stevie Smith would score six straight for Newman to help them get back into the swing of things.
Stevie Strong would then score six straight to bring the Jets within three.
The 10-3 run was one of the largest point swings of the game, and a jumper from Murphy put Newman down just one, and putting the crowd into a frenzy.
The Jets would tie it up with just 56 seconds left, coming from a three from
Chase Wiebe.
Stevie Strong was fouled late and made both of his free throws, but the Golden Bears hit a massive three with just nine seconds left.
As the crowd became reckless,
Stevie Strong with ice in his veins, went in for a layup with just seconds left, making the shot and getting fouled on his shot. He made the ensuing free throw to give the Jets a two point win.
Strong's 37 points led the way, which was one of the most exciting performances that a Jets player had seen in several years in a season opener.
Latik Murphy had 16 points in the victory as well.
The Jets will have little time to rest, as they will host Minot State tomorrow afternoon at 3.
