BELTON - The LeTourneau YellowJacket men's basketball team was back in action on Saturday night as they took on the Mary Hardin-Baylor Cru in Belton. The YellowJackets put together a furious comeback late in the second half as they looked to pull a big road win, but fell short to the Cru, 64-58.

The two teams exchanged buckets to begin the game before a quick 6-0 run by LeTourneau (1-4, 0-2 ASC) gave them the early 10-5 lead. Junior Justin Jones came out hot as he scored six of the first 12 points. The Jackets extended their lead to 19-13 around the 10 minute mark as they had great ball movement and ran their offense very well to go with tough defense.

Mary Hardin-Baylor (3-2, 1-0 ASC) came back to tie the game at 25, but LeTourneau responded to take a 30-26 lead. However, the Cru went into halftime with their first lead of the game as they scored the final five points to take a 31-30 lead.

From there, LeTourneau had a very rough stretch to start the second half as they turned the ball over six times in the first five and a half minutes and did not score a single point until the 14:29 mark when junior Chad Willaims hit a jumper to make it a 39-32 game.

The struggles continued, especially in the turnover department, as UMHB extended their lead to 13.

However, down by 11 points with 3:02 remaining, LeTourneau made a furious run at the Cru, including made jump shots by Jones and C. Williams. However, it would not be enough as Mary Hardin-Baylor hung on for the 64-58 win.

C. Williams led the way with 20 points on the night to go along with nine rebounds, four assists and a blocked shot. Jones followed him with 17 points and eight rebounds on 8-of-12 shooting. Senior Deitrich Williams picked up five assists and three steals on the night.

LeTourneau shot 43% from the field, but only 22% from the three point line. The Jackets were outrebounded 37-32, but won the turnover battled 21-19. However, the big difference was second half turnovers, as LeTourneau gave it up 14 times. 

The Jackets are back in action on Monday as they travel to Shreveport to take on the Centenary Gents in non-conference action. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.