RICHARDSON - The LeTourneau YellowJacket men's basketball team squared off against the No. 1 team in the West, the Mary Hardin-Baylor Crusaders in the Quarterfinals of the ASC Basketball Tournament.
Despite falling behind big in the first half, the Jackets put together a furious comeback in that half and gave themselves an opportunity to pull the upset in the second half. However, it was not enough as Mary Hardin-Baylor survived, winning 61-54 to advance.
UMHB took an early 5-0 before freshman Ladaria Brown got the Jackets on the board with a three pointer. After a three by the Cru, junior Justin Jones got on the board followed by a layup from junior Chad Williams.
The two teams went back and forth before LeTourneau hit a cold spell. After a layup from Jones at the 13:36 mark and two free throws from sophomore Josh Thornton, the Jackets did not score another basket for the next seven minutes while UMHB went on a 12-0 run to take a 28-11 lead with 6:38 to go in the half.
However, the Jackets defense went to another level, shutting down the Cru as they only scored three points the rest of the half. Meanwhile, LeTourneau slowly began clawing their way back into the game as they found their jumpshot.
Big play from bench players such as Thornton, sophomore Zach Driver, and freshman Chris Hynes as well as five points to end the half by senior Deitrch Williams made it a 31-24 game going into the break.
LeTourneau came out hot in the second half as Brown hit two straight threes to make it a three point game. In the blink of an eye, the Jackets had cut the deficit down to one at the 15:08 mark as Jones hit a layup.
UMHB responded by pushing their lead back out to six but jumpers from Hynes and C. Williams as well as a free throw from D. Williams brought the game back down to three. A tip in from Brown got the game to one, but again the Cru responded with key jumpers to get their lead back out to five.
The Jackets got aggressive and attacked the basket to get to the free throw line, bringing the game down to one point again with 5:31 to go.
Both teams exchanged possessions as it remained a one point game and LeTourneau had a chance to take the lead. D. Williams hit a jumper at the 4:33 mark to make it a 53-52 game; however, it seemed LeTourneau had run out of gas as they did not hit another field goal until 23 seconds remaining in the game.
The Cru, who had struggled at the line, hit their free throws to close the game and take the seven point win.
Brown led the way with 14 points on the day with five rebounds, a steal, and a block. He scored 11 of those points in the second half. Meanwhile, D. Williams and Jones each added 12 points while Jones pulled down seven boards. C. Williams led the team with eight rebounds, but fouled out of the game with five minutes to go in the game.
LeTourneau only shot 28% in the first half, but were much more efficient in the second half, shooting 36%. They did well with possession, only turning it over 13 times, but could not force any turnovers as UMHB only had six. The Cru were also able to get to the free throw line 28 times compared to only 12 for the Jackets.
The Jackets season comes to an end at 11-15 in what was a huge turnaround for their men's basketball program after finishing last for two straight seasons. The program thanks seniors Deitrich Williams, Cristian Driver, and Kendrae Carter for all of their contributions throughout their careers. LeTourneau will go straight into the offseason.
