SHERMAN, Texas - A slow start would be overcome by familiarity of the opposition as the LeTourneau University men's basketball team managed to take the lead for good midway through the first half to secure a 91-73 road win at Austin College inside the Hughey Gymnasium in Sherman, Texas on Monday, November 27th. 

Winners of three straight, the YellowJackets are now 4-1 overall this season which includes two wins over the Kangaroos who fall to 2-4 overall. 

A much slower start than the first time that the two squads met on the hardwood this year allowed for AC to jump out and score six of the first nine points of the game as freshman Justin Moore would get LETU on the board with a three at the 18:13 mark. Following a layup and foul to put the 'Roos up by a score of 9-3, LeTourneau would score two straight buckets to cut the lead down to 9-7 but see Austin College respond by taking their largest lead of the game at 13-7 with 15:14 remaining in the first half. 

Things would finally break in favor of the YellowJackets towards the mid way point of the first half as LETU would take advantage of a 14-0 run to open up a 21-13 lead while holding Austin College scoreless for nearly five minutes of game action and go almost six minutes between field goals. The LETU lead grew to 13 on an offensive rebound and put back by senior Caylab Herrera which would then be followed up by an 8-0 run by the 'Roos who pulled back within five at 29-24. 

LeTourneau would not be finished with their offensive attack in the first half, scoring 15 points in the final 4:37 of the opening period to push their lead back out to 44-32 at the break after taking the largest lead of the half at 44-28 on a Caleb Loggins layup with just 49 seconds remaining in the half. An efficient shooting effort of 18-34 (52.9 percent) from the field would stake the YellowJackets to the halftime lead, while also holding a 27-18 rebounding advantage at intermission. 

Austin College would not be as fortunate to open up the second half as LETU scored nine of the first 11 points out of the break to go up by a score of 53-34 just 93 seconds into the half. LeTourneau then extended their lead to 23 points on a pair of Alec Colhoff free throws to put the YellowJackets in full control of the game. The 'Roos would not go quietly, using a 9-2 run over the next 2:12 to get the game back within 16 at 64-48, but never could find a way to fully shift momentum back as LETU would push their lead back out to a 20 point margin. 

LeTourneau's largest lead of the game would come with 6:25 left in the game on a Justin Eadeh jumper in the paint to put the YellowJackets up by a score of 85-58 before going on to record their second-straight double-digit victory over the 'Roos. 

"It was definitely not a pretty win as we turned the ball over way too much tonight and came out flat on the road" said head coach Dan Miller in a post-game interview. "We crashed the offensive glass hard and Caleb Loggins especially was impressive on the offensive boards." "We always are pleased when we win but excited about the work we need to do to improve."

LeTourneau would overcome an off shooting night from beyond the arc (4-18, 22.2 percent) by finishing 35 of 75 (46.7 percent) from the floor and scoring 24 second chance points on 20 offensive rebounds. Austin College would not fare any better, shooting just 26-75 (34.7 percent) from the field and hitting just 4 of 26 (15.4 percent) of their three point attempts. 

Loggins would lead all players in the game by recording his first double-double of the year with 21 points and a game-high 13 rebounds. Sophomore Nate West had 16 points and five assists to go along with four steals and seven rebounds while Moore finished in double-figures for the fifth straight game (15 points). Hererra would give LeTourneau four players in double-figure point totals after finishing with 10 points and snagging six rebounds. The 'Roos were led by Justice Mercadel who had 21 points and three steals. 

American Southwest Conference play gets underway for LETU on Thursday evening when the YellowJackets play host to the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor at 7:30 p.m. LeTourneau will be playing at home for just the second time this season, and will take on a 'Cru squad that enters Thursday's game with a 4-1 overall record.