WICHITA- Men's Basketball hosted Rogers State to start their 2026 campaign. The Jets fell short, 84-72. 

How it Happened:
- The Hillcats started off the first three minutes of play on a 10-2 run, pushing the Jets into an early deficit. At the first commercial timeout, the Jets trailed 14-4. A 4-0 run brought the Jets within eight at the 13 minutes mark with points by Cyrus Shaw and Jordan Glenn-Hawkins. The Hillcats responded, taking their lead out to 21-8. Later, a 7-0 run by Shaw and Somerhalder would take the game to  26-17, Jets trailing. Another short surge by RSU would extend their lead to 37-22. Back-to-back threes from Thatcher McClure and Jayden Schoen would put the score at 39-31 with four minutes to play in the half, Jets trailing. To end the half, the Hillcats put together a 9-0 run to take the 48-31 lead into the second half. 
- Out of the half, the Hillcats would find a 4-0 surge taking the 52-31 lead. A 9-0 run with baskets by Jacob Joe, Somerhalder, and Deacon Courtney would make the deficit 12 points with 17 minutes to go. A Schoen three took the score to 56-45 with under 16 to play. At the under 15 minute media timeout, the Jets trailed 62-47. Later an 8-0 run would put the Hillcats up 22 points. The Jets continued to battle, a jumper by McClure made it twenty halfway through the half. This jumper by McClure sparked an 11-0 run by the Jets to take the game to 72-61 with 5:30 to play. During this offensive surge, Trae Clayton scored five, Shaw added two, and McClure added five. The Hillcats responded with a short 8-3 run to take the game to 8–64 with 3:30 to play. Though the Jets continued to battle, they would run out of time to close the deficit. Newman fell short, 84-72. 

Player Notes: 
- Schoen led the offense with 16 points. 
- Shaw scored 13 points. 
- McClure and Somerhalder scored 10 points a piece. 

The Jets are back in action on Saturday where they host Central Oklahoma at 3:30 PM.