MEMPHIS, TENN. – The LeTourneau University men's basketball team would knock down seven three's in the first half including four in their first eight shots of the game to down Vassar College by a final score of 79-64 at the Rhodes College Tip-Off Classic inside Mallory Gym in Memphis, Tennessee on Sunday, November 19th.

With the win, LETU finishes their weekend in Memphis with a 1-1 record to improve to 2-1 overall while the Brewers fall to 0-2 overall.

Playing loose from the get go, LETU traded buckets with the Brewers to start the game before going on a 21-0 run to open up a massive lead just 5:16 into the game. The run would see the YellowJackets hit seven of their first eight shots from the field and knock in four of five three-point attempts as Vassar simply could not find a way to stop a potent LeTourneau offense early on.
Being forced out of their original game plan, the Brewers would use a 9-2 run over the next 3:27 of game action to cut the lead down to 25-11, but a pair of Justin Moore free throws would break the run and put LETU up by a score of 27-11 midway through the first half.

Things would keep rolling for LeTourneau in the latter part of the first half with LETU building their largest lead of the half on a Javaughn Dantzler transition layup with 3:56 remaining in the half before taking a 47-25 lead at the break. Rebounding would be key for the YellowJackets in the first 20 minutes of play, outrebounding the Brewers 22-16 while holding VC to just two second chance points despite giving up a large size advantage in the low post.

LeTourneau would open the second half by keeping the Vassar offense in check to take their largest lead of the game at 62-33 on a Caleb Loggins steal and layup as the YellowJackets would be in full control and well on their way to a double-digit victory. Vassar would not go quietly though, using a 14-3 run to cut the lead down to 65-47 as LETU would have a five-minute, 23 second stretch where they would only score three points.

Lock-down defense by the YellowJackets allowed LETU to maintain their 20-plus point lead heading into the later stages of the game as Vassar would go through a scoring drought of their own, netting just three points over the next 4:19 following LeTourneau's scoring drought. LeTourneau managed to weather one last Vassar push as the Brewers scored five of the first six points out of the final media timeout of the game to cut the lead back down to 73-56 before hanging on to claim the victory in the first-ever meeting between the two schools.

LETU shot 30 of 64 from the field (46.9 percent) after opening the game 18 of 36 (50 percent) from the field in the first half. The YellowJackets utilized an 18-4 advantage in points off turnovers and 9-5 advantage in second chance points to overcome a 25-4 deficit in bench points as the Brewers also held a 32-28 advantage in points in the paint.

Moore tied a career-high with 21 points to finish the weekend with 42 points while adding four rebounds against the Brewers. Alec Colhoff scored 17 points and had four triples while Nate West had eight points and five assists. Vassar was led by a team high 15 points and seven rebounds from Owen Murray.

LeTourneau will take a six-day break for the Thanksgiving break before traveling to Shreveport, Louisiana to take on Centenary College at 3 p.m. on Saturday, November 25th.