WICHITA, Kan. – In their season opener, the Aggie men's basketball team's comeback fell just short as they lost to Newman 87-85 in overtime on Friday night; Tyler Williams nearly notches a triple-double with 16 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists.

Cameron started out the first half strong going up 10-2 just three minutes into the game. However Newman game back and tied the game at 16 points apiece at the 12:09 mark. The two teams traded buckets until the Jets used a 16 point run to take a 13 point lead with 2:16 left in the half. NU would extend their lead and at the half, they led 43-27.
The Aggies shot just 40 percent from the field in the first half, going 4-9 from three and just 5-11 from the free throw line. They also uncharacteristically turned the ball over 10 times through the first 20 minutes of play.

In the second half, CU started to cut into the lead until they used a nine point run to get to within two points with 12 minutes left in the game thanks to a Johann Tate three pointer.  However, a pair of Jet five point stretches extended their lead back out to nine points at the 7:09 mark. After going back and forth for a few minutes, Cameron made their move and used a 12 point rally, five from JV Long, to tie the game up at 78 points with just 23 seconds left. The Aggies held up on defense as Williams got a steal giving Tyus Momoh a chance at the game winner but the shot came up short, forcing overtime.

In overtime, both teams locked down their defenses as just seven points were scored in the first four minutes of extra time. Zach Dumas led CU with five points, but Newman went on a 7-2 run in the final minute of play to get the 87-85 win.

Williams led the way with his 16 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists, while shooting 54.5 percent from the field and going 2-5 from three. Jalen Nicholas scored a career high 13 points while Bryce Elie chipped in 12 points in his first CU game, Long had 11 points, and Momoh had 10.

The Aggies shot almost 51 percent from the field, 48 percent from three, and hit on just 58 percent of their charity stripes. They had 19 turnovers, but on the defensive side they forced 18 NU turnovers with 10 steals.

Newman shot 46 percent from the field, 40 percent from long range, and hit 15 out of their 18 free throw attempts. Christian DeYoung led all players with 18 points, hitting 6-11 from three, while Ben Ayre added 15 points and 11 assists.

Cameron will finish up the Heartland/Lone Star Conference Challenge on Saturday as they face Oklahoma Christian at 2 p.m.