Freshman Sam Talbert scored nine points in the two overtime periods but no points were bigger than a 3 pointer with 21 seconds to go in the second overtime to spark the LeTourneau University men's basketball team to an 84-81 win over UT Tyler on Tuesday night.

Talbert was one of four players for LeTourneau (2-4, 1-2 ASC) in double digits with 13. Junior Shaquille Reed had a team-high 18 to lead the YellowJackets. Junior Giovanny Thompson had a career-high 16 and freshman Kelby Schimming added 11. The last two overtime game for the YellowJackets was on January 13, 2001 against Louisiana College.

UT Tyler (1-7, 0-4 ASC) got a game-high 33 from Chris Rios and a double double – 26 points and 17 rebounds from Tyler Jacobs. The 33 points by Rios is the most since a similar effort by Travis Dykman on Feb. 6, 2014. The 17 rebounds by Jacobs are the most since a 19-rebound effort by Darren Houliston against Hardin-Simmons On Feb. 22, 2013.

"It was just a great basketball game tonight with two teams battling hard and making plays," said LeTourneau head coach Dan Miller. "I was very proud of our guys for battling back and their clutch plays in overtime."

The freshman from Georgetown hit a jumper with 11 seconds left in the first overtime to tie the game at 69. LeTourneau first year head coach Dan Miller went back to the rookie in the clutch. The freshman got open for a 3 pointer after a ball screen and handoff pass by Reed that put the home team ahead 82-81.

Then, the YellowJackets forced a Patriots turnover when Stephon Hall lost control of the ball driving to the hoop. Talbert added to the lead with two free throws for the final margin despite a last-second 3 pointer attempt by Joey Cuervo from UT Tyler.

Before the YellowJackets could even think about overtime, trailing 50-40 with 9:08 to go in the second, the home team went on an 18-4 run. Eight of the 18 came from Thompson as the run put LeTourneau ahead for the first time since the 11:03 mark of the first half.

With LeTourneau holding a 58-54 lead with 2:32 left in regulation, the UT Tyler tandem of Tyler Jacobs and Chris Rios rallied the visitors to send the game into overtime. Twice, Jacobs cut the deficit to two and with six seconds left to play Rios made a layup to tie the game at 60 and send the game into overtime.

Neither team could sustain a lead in the first overtime. Rios for UT Tyler picked up where he left off, scoring all nine of the points for the visitors. The YellowJackets got a key three-point play by Schimming to tie the game at 67 with :50 to play and Talbert made a jumper with :11 to tie the game at 69 and send the contest into a second overtime.

In the second overtime, LeTourneau scored the first six points before UT Tyler came back with six straight themselves to tie the game at 75. Neither team could sustain a lead in the closing minutes. Rios put the Patriots' ahead 80-79 on two free throws with 1:06 to go. Then, Stephon Hall made one of two free throws with :24 to play for an 81-79 lead for UTT. After he made the second free throw, it set the stage for the heroics by Talbert.
 

"It's exciting to see our freshmen play like Sam, Kelby and Jared (Hunter) did tonight and to see the whole team do their jobs to help our team get a big conference win," said Miller.

Next, the YellowJackets will host Ozarks (4-4, 1-3 ASC) on Friday, Dec. 19 at 3 p.m. at Solheim Arena.