Box Score Box Score
THE RUNDOWN
WICHITA, Kan. – Newman University hit five of six free throws in the final 1:06 after a 67-all tie, and the Jets (3-5, 1-0) defeated St. Edward's (6-2, 0-1) on the road Thursday at Fugate Gymnasium, 72-70.
James Taylor's layup with 1:38 left knotted the score at 67-67. From there Newman's Kevin Bryant hit a free-throw to take the lead for good with 1:07 remaining, hitting one of two shots with 1:04 to play.
SEU had a chance to tie and take the lead with 15 seconds remaining, but Dorian Lopez's two free-throw attempts came up empty, and Newman's Bryant and Damien Akao hit two free throws apiece in the final 12 seconds to build a five-point lead, 72-67. The Hilltoppers' Sean Watkins hit a half-court heave at the buzzer to cut the score to two points to end the game.
Heartland Conference openers away from Austin have been a struggle for the Hilltoppers as SEU drops to 2-8 all-time when not opening league play at home.
HIGHLIGHTS
• Landon Goesling scored 21 points in the loss giving the junior double figures in scoring in all eight games this season; it was the 16th game in his career with 10+ points.
• Goesling had a career-high six assists in the loss.
• Goesling was 11-for-11 from the free-throw line, which was the fifth-most from the line in school history by any Hilltopper who finished a game perfect from the line; the school record is 14-for-14 (Bradley Burdick, vs. Texas Wesleyan 3/1/2001) and three players have hit all 12 attempts in a game.
• Sean Watkins had 16 points, a season high, in the loss to the Jets. He has 20 career games with double-digit scoring and four this season.
• James Taylor's four rebounds Thursday gave the junior 200 rebounds for his career.
STAT OF THE GAME
.387 - The Hilltoppers shot a season-low 38.7 percent from the floor on 24 of 62 shooting, dropping below the 40-percent mark for the first time this season.
THEY SAID IT
Head Coach Andre Cook reacts to Thursday's loss to Newman ...
"Disappointing loss. We missed several free throws, turned the ball over at critical times and we were mentally soft. I didn't help them much either. I hope we learn from this. Tough one on Saturday coming up."
WHAT'S NEXT
The Hilltoppers will play host to Texas A&M-Kingsville Saturday at 4 p.m. at the RCC.
