CLAREMORE, Okla. – The Rogers State men's basketball team fell, 68-65, to Newman on Wednesday (Feb. 21) at the Claremore Expo Center.
 
The Jets (14-12, 10-5 Heartland Conference) used a second half surge to pull away for the league victory. Newman gained a 15-point edge at one point and held on for the 68-65 win.
 
After a tied score at 24-24 at halftime, Newman went in front by 12 at 43-31 midway through the second half on back-to-back Ben Ayre baskets, including a 3-pointer.
 
Newman extended the lead to its largest of the game at 49-34 after a layup from Ayre with 6:51 remaining.
 
The Hillcats (17-10, 7-7) had a run at the end to cut the deficit to four on a Chase Littlejohn 3-pointer with 1:16 remaining for a 56-52 score. RSU closed to within three on a Tate Turner 3-pointer with seconds left for the final 68-65 margin.
 
The first half was slow going for both teams, but the Hillcats managed to gain a 13-7 advantage at the 11:16 mark before halftime on Brewster Peacock triple. The rest of the first half was tight with the score tied at 24-24 going into the halftime intermission.
 
Turner posted a team-high 21 points on 8-of-13 shooting and 4-of-5 shooting from 3. Littlejohn went for 13 points with four 3-pointers. Baron Smith Jr. added 11 points.
 
Kevin Bryant of Newman registered a game-high 24 points and 11 rebounds for a double-double. He totaled five steals and three assists. Ayre tallied 15 points.
 
In the second half when the Jets pulled away, they shot 55.6 percent (10-18) from the field and finished at 46.5 percent (20-43) for the game.
 
The Cats shot 41.4 percent (24-58) from the field and 44 percent (11-25) from 3.
 
The Hillcats end the regular season on Saturday (Feb. 24) at 3 p.m. on Senior Day against Oklahoma Christian at the Claremore Expo Center. Follow the action on the Hillcat Network, RSU TV and on RSU radio 91.3 FM.