WALLA WALLA, Wash. – Trailing by 13 at halftime, the LeTourneau University men's basketball team would be unable to mount a comeback in a 104-90 road loss to number-four nationally ranked Whitman College at the Sherwood Athletic Center in Walla Walla, Washington on Sunday, November 11th.
The loss leaves LETU with a 1-1 overall record on their season-opening west coast swing while the Blues pick up their first win of the year in their 2018-19 season opener. Whitman is now 57-6 overall at home since the beginning of the 2014-15 season with their last home loss against a non-conference opponent coming on December 13th of 2014 against Warner Pacific College.
"Whitman is a great team, but I know we are also a great team despite the outcome" said head coach
Dan Miller in a post-game interview. "I Thought the game came down shot making and to their credit they converted at a higher percentage." "Tonight was two great teams battling, and some early foul trouble hurt us but that's basketball." "I am proud of the fight and effort tonight and look forward to getting back to practice."
How It Happened:
- Whitman would be the first team to get on the board, connecting on a pair of free throws after drawing a foul but see LETU's Nate West nail a three in their first offensive possession to give LeTourneau an early lead.
- The YellowJackets would then go on to force back-to-back turnovers by the Blues and get buckets in the paint from West and sophomore Justin Moore as a stunned home crowd saw Whitman call a timeout trailing 7-2 just 1:34 into the game.
- LeTourneau would continue to feast on early turnovers from Whitman, pushing their lead to as many as nine at 13-4 following a free throw from senior Caleb Loggins.
- A Seth Mattson offensive rebound and layup at the 15:20 mark in the first half would allow LETU to maintain a small lead at 20-13 as Whitman would begin to find their stroke and battle their way back into the game before reclaiming the lead on a Jack Stewart three just a few minutes later.
- Both offenses would continue to push the pace heading into the final 10 minutes of the first half as a Loggins layup would tie the game at 28-28 before a quick 7-2 run by Whitman put the Blues up 35-30.
- Whitman's lead would continue to grow throughout the duration of the first half, hitting double digits with 6:40 left before halftime as foul trouble would start to get the best of the YellowJackets.
- Trailing by 16 at 50-34, LeTourneau would manage to go on an 8-0 run capped off by a Moore three to cut the lead down to eight at 50-42 but see Whitman make one final push before the break to go up 57-44 at intermission.
- Out of halftime, LETU would get a pair of free throws from Christian Seidl and a layup by Loggins to cut the deficit to single-digits but once again see Whitman rely on timely three-point shooting to extend their lead to 14 at 65-51.
- Trading baskets for the next several minutes, the Blues would manage to make another run and take their largest lead of the game at 78-58 with 12:56 left in the game as the YellowJackets would risk the game getting away from them.
- A 9-2 LETU run that would see freshman Kyle Matthews knock down a transition three would bring LeTourneau back to the original halftime deficit of 13 at 82-69 with nine minutes left to play and manage to stay within striking distance heading into the final six minutes of action.
- Despite the efforts from the YellowJackets, Whitman would have too much firepower for LETU to be able to mount a comeback as the lead would get no smaller than 11 in the final five minutes of play.
Key Stats:
- Whitman's victory would come thanks in part to a 52.9 percent (37-70) shooting mark compared to a 30-for-65 (46.2 percent) mark for LeTourneau as the Blues would connect on 12 triples compared to just seven for the YellowJackets.
- The high-octane pace made for numerous turnovers for both squads as LETU would hold a 27-20 advantage in points off turnovers but get outscored 54-11 in bench points.
- LeTourneau would be led in scoring by West with a game-high 25 points as Moore would not be far behind with 24. Loggins would add another 18 for the YellowJackets and add one block.
What's Next?
A season-opening four-game road trip continues Friday, November 16th in Marshall, Texas with the American Southwest Conference/Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Crossover Tournament at 3 p.m. when the YellowJackets take on Schreiner University. Last season, LETU would take a 90-82 road victory over the Mountaineers who would go on to win the SCAC regular-season and post-season tournament titles to qualify for the NCAA Tournament. LeTourneau has won the previous two matchups against SU with the last Schreiner win over the YellowJackets coming on November 28th, 2015 in Seguin, Texas by a final of 95-92 in overtime.
