ABILENE, Texas – A 15-2 run to start the game would be the start that the LeTourneau University men's basketball team needed to cruise to an 85-69 road win at McMurry University at Kimbrell Arena on Thursday, January 4th.
 
The win gives LETU a 10-2 overall record and 4-1 mark in the American Southwest Conference along with a four-game winning streak while the War Hawks are now 4-8 overall and 3-3 in the ASC.
 
"The guys had the defensive intensity early and that led to our lead early in the first half" said head coach Dan Miller in a post-game interview. "Alec Colhoff shot the ball very well and it was good to see Justin Moore get a double-double." "However, we were sloppy with too many unforced turnovers and need to clean that up going into Saturday." "I'm proud of the guys for finding a way to win and we look forward to practice tomorrow."  
 
LETU was efficient from the field throughout the game, jumping out to the early lead by shooting 18-33 in the first half (54.55 percent) and hitting 14 of 30 shots (46.67 percent) in the second half to finish 50.8 percent (32-63) from the field. The YellowJackets led by as many as 29 points in the game and held a 44-38 advantage on the glass, but were outscored 30-24 in the paint.
 
Colhoff led all players with a season-high 30 points in the game and went 9-11 from the field which included a six of eight mark from the three-point line. Moore pitched in 13 points and had a team-high 10 rebounds while sophomore Nate West scored 20 points to go along with six points and five assists. McMurry was paced by LaRandall Scroggins who had 14 points and six rebounds.
 
After jumping out to a double-digit lead just 5:30 into the game, LeTourneau would steadily build their lead up throughout the rest of the first half and lead by as many as 23 points in the opening 20 minutes. Taking advantage of a poor scoring output by the War Hawks, the YellowJackets utilized a 12-0 advantage in points beyond the arc in the first half to claim a 47-29 lead at the break.
 
LETU would pick up where they left off to begin the second half, scoring the first seven points of the period to lead by a score of 54-29 and never look back. The large lead allowed for the YellowJackets to utilize their bench in the first of a two-game road trip on the weekend, playing a total of 12 players in the game with only two players seeing more than 30 minutes of action on the night. LeTourneau never trailed in the game, allowing the War Hawks to get no closer than the final 16-point margin in the second half after giving up the final 11 points of the game.
 
ASC cross-division play concludes on Saturday for LETU, playing the back-end of a weekend road trip at Hardin-Simmons University with tip-off set for 4 p.m. In a battle of last year's ASC East and West Division winners, HSU is now 4-9 overall and 2-3 in the ASC this year following an 85-81 home loss to East Texas Baptist on Thursday night.