LONGVIEW, Texas - Shaking off a 28-21 deficit with 8:47 remaining in the first half, the LeTourneau University men's basketball team would outscore visiting Austin College 27-11 to close out the first half before cruising in the second half to earn a 108-69 win in their 2018-19 home opener at Solheim Arena on Tuesday, November 20th. 

LETU improves to 3-2 overall with the victory while the 'Roos drop back below .500 at 2-3 overall heading into the Thanksgiving holiday. 

"It was nice to get back to Solheim Arena for a game and the guys responded by playing with great effort and everyone contributing" said head coach Dan Miller in a post-game interview. "Our bench production is something we want to turn into a positive and we took a nice step towards that tonight." "Overall, we were pleased with the way we rebounded and played low-turnover basketball."

How It Happened:

• Looking to get off to a quick start in front of their home crowd, LETU would find themselves in a battle early on as three-point shooting for Austin College would spark a 10-5 run to double up the YellowJackets two minutes into the game. 
• LeTourneau would cut the AC lead to three at 12-9 on a transition dunk by Justin Moore, but see Austin College rely once again on hitting shots from beyond the arc to go up six. 
• Finally managing to tie the game at 19-19 and again at 21-21, LeTourneau would be unable to secure the lead as a 7-0 'Roo run gave Austin College their largest lead of the game.
• Back-to-back buckets by Caleb Loggins helped jump start an 11-2 run that would give LETU the lead following a layup from Christian Seidl with 5:40 left in the first half. 
• AC would respond by taking one final lead at 34-32 on a fast break jumper from Blake Mattich, but see Nate West hit a three to allow LeTourneau to reclaim the lead for good. 
• The half would end with a 7-2 run in favor of the YellowJackets, as West would hit a free-throw line jump shot at the buzzer to put LETU up 48-39. 
• LeTourneau would waste no time to get going in the second half, using a 9-2 run to extend their lead to 57-41 with 17:05 remaining in the game. 
• LETU's lead would grow to 20 on a Loggins layup three minutes later and would be followed up consecutive triples as the YellowJackets continued their aggressive style of play. 
• Extending their lead in the final 10 minutes of play while shuffling players in and out to keep legs fresh, LETU would hit the century mark with 3:13 remaining on an Andrew Eberhardt triple and end the game by scoring eight of the final nine points. 

Key Stats:

• LeTourneau built their lead thanks in part to a 42-18 advantage on points in three point shooting as the YellowJackets connected on 14-of-30 treys. 
• Controlling the game in nearly every statistical category, LETU would score 25 points off turnovers and secure 24 second-chance points off of a season-high 21 offensive rebounds. 
• Loggins led LeTourneau with 20 points and six rebounds while West added 13 points and Javaughn Dantzler scored 10.
• 15 different players for the YellowJackets would wind up in the scoring column, with 23 of the 42 shots made being assisted.  

What's Next?
4-0 Wheaton College will come to town to take on the YellowJackets for a post-Thanksgiving game on Saturday, November 24th at 7 p.m. The Thunder earned a 86-71 win over Calvin College on Tuesday evening, and have wins over Ripon, Coe, and number two-nationally ranked Wisconsin-Oshkosh. Saturday's game will be Wheaton's first road game of the year.