UTPB men's basketball struggled early on and was never able to recover in a 101-91 loss Saturday afternoon on the road against Newman in Wichita, Kan.

Trailing 15-12 nine minutes into the game, Newman went on to score 18 straight points to grab a 21-point, 33-12 lead at 7:09 of the first half. The Falcons got the advantage cut to 13 points, but the Jets scored the final eight points of the half to lead 46-25 at halftime.

UTPB was able to cut the lead down to 11 points with over 11 minutes remaining in the second half on nine straight points, seven from Chris Griffin.

Five points in a row later from Phadarius Taylor got the Falcons within 76-67, and UTPB trailed by seven at 3:03 after a pair from the line, but never got any closer in the eventual 10-point loss.

Chris Griffin led all Falcons with 22 points on the night and nine rebounds. Codye Hatcher added 21 points and a team-high 10 rebounds off the bench. Taylor scored 17 with five assists and the Falcons got four 3-pointers from Madison Turner, ending the night with 14 points. Malcolm Hill-Bey had a team-high six assists and 12 points.

Reggie Baker led all players with 29 points on the day for Newman.

UTPB is back home in two week, hosting Rogers State Thursday, Jan. 1 at 7:30 p.m.