The LeTourneau University men's basketball team led from nearly start to finish in an 83-68 win over UT Tyler on Thursday afternoon.

The YellowJackets (4-6, 2-2 ASC) spread the scoring among seven players, including four in double figures with sophomore Alec Colhoff, scoring a game-high 20 in the win. Junior guard Jeff Martin (pictured)nearly had a triple double with 16 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Seniors CJ Edwards and Zakarius Wells added 17 and 10 points, respectively. Senior Giovanny Thompson added eight points and a game-high 12 rebounds in the win.

The Patriots (5-3, 2-2 ASC) were led by Dadrian Taylor, who had 19 points after going 13-for-16 from the free-throw line. He was joined in double figures by Anthony Gonzalez and Melvin Anthony, who scored 18 and 12 points, respectively.

LETU head coach Dan Miller was happy with the unselfish play and the ball security of his team, who had 14 assists on 29 field goals and a season-low six turnovers. "Our team did a great job of sharing the basketball and making the extra pass for the best shot. Plus, I thought we did a great job taking care of the ball and finished the game with winning play," said Miller. "This win is a great way to go into the Christmas break and I will be excited to get back to work on December 27^th."

Out of the gates, LeTourneau built a 10-2 advantage in the first 2:26 of the game. To build the early lead, Colhoff and freshman Christian Seidl hit back-to-back 3 pointers for the YellowJackets. LeTourneau finished the day with ten 3-pointers in the win. In all four wins for the YellowJackets, they have made double figure 3-pointers. On four occasions, LeTourneau would build the lead to as much as 10 in the first half. In the first half, LeTourneau shot 45.2% (14-for-31) from the field and the Patriots were held to 34.5% (10-for-29).

In the second half, UT Tyler cut the LeTourneau lead to six on five occasions including 66-60 with 5:38 left in the game. However, the YellowJackets answered with a 12-2 run to build a double figure lead for the rest of the game. In the run, four different YellowJackets were involved in the scoring, including a 3-pointer each by Martin and Edwards.

LeTourneau will be idle for the Christmas Break before returning to action with a pair of rematch contests. First, they will face Austin College on Dec. 29 at 3 p.m. in Sherman. LETU and the Kangaroos started the season on Nov. 14 with Austin College coming away with a 72-69 win in Longview. Then, the YellowJackets will host Haridn-Simmons on New Year's Eve at 3 p.m. in a non-conference matchup. LETU and HSU played against each other, last Saturday in Abilene with the Cowboys coming away with a 98-96 win in overtime.