WICHITA - Stevie Strong had another impressive performance inside Fugate Gymnasium on Saturday, as he led the Jets on a late comeback attempt that was eventually thwarted by Central Oklahoma. 

Strong was honored before the game, as he had reached over 1,000 career points in a Newman uniform, He reached the milestone last week at Missouri Western, hitting the first three pointer of the game. He was awarded with a graphic canvas presented by Head Coach RJ Allen. 

With the Jets in a double digit hole early, Strong and the Jets had a lot of work on their hands, which would be a deficit that they would overcome. 

Strong and Latik Murphy were the leaders on the offense. Murphy's excellent three point shooting on the day helped the Jets in a big way, as the Jets tied the game at 32 after being down by as many as 14 points. 

The Bronchos retook a six point advantage, but Strong went on a mini-run of his own to put Newman down by only a few possessions. 

Four points from Sam Somerhalder in the opening minutes of the second half meant only a two point advantage for UCO. 

With the Bronchos pulling away again, Jacob Joe hit several clutch shots to bring Newman within one. 

As agonizingly close as the Jets came to retaking the lead, the team fell into foul trouble late as the Bronchos took a large lead from the free throw line. UCO would dominate the final three minutes to win 86-77. What hurt the Jets the most in the loss was letting UCO attempt 40 free throws. 

Strong reached over 25 points at home, while Murphy had 18 points, 12 of them coming from three.