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LeTourneau University Athletics

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LeTourneau University, opens in new tab
Phakhaphum Padmanuja
87
Winner LeTourneau LETU 4-4, 1-1 ASC
82
Mary Hardin-Baylor UMHB-MEN 6-1, 1-1 ASC
Winner
LeTourneau LETU
4-4, 1-1 ASC
87
Final
82
Mary Hardin-Baylor UMHB-MEN
6-1, 1-1 ASC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
LeTourneau LETU 40 47 87
Mary Hardin-Baylor UMHB-MEN 35 47 82

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | Contact: Matt Kinney, Sports Information Director, mattkinney@letu.edu

Men's Basketball Hands UMHB First Loss Of Season With 87-82 Victory

BELTON, Texas – Taking the lead for good with four minutes remaining in the first half, the LeTourneau University men's basketball team held off the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor by a final score of 87-82 on the road at the Mayborn Campus Center in Belton, Texas on Saturday, December 1st.
 
LETU improves to 4-4 overall and 1-1 in the American Southwest Conference while handing the Crusaders their first loss of the season. UMHB is now 6-1 overall and 1-1 in the ASC as only three of 13 ASC schools (Louisiana College, Howard Payne, and Ozarks) made it through the opening weekend of ASC play without suffering a defeat in conference games.
 
How It Happened:
  • Back-and-forth action would set the tone for the game early on as two ties and three lead changes were had in the opening 3:49 of action.
  • UMHB would use a free-throw and fast break jump shot to break a 9-9 deadlock and go up three but see LETU junior Nate West tie the game again on his second triple of the night as the YellowJackets would have an answer for every run made by the Cru.
  • With Mary Hardin-Baylor holding an 18-12 lead with 12:55 remaining, both teams would go through a bit of a scoring slump as the pace would be slowed down until a Caleb Loggins layup tied the game at 21-21 seven minutes later.
  • Justin Moore would give LETU their first lead since the 5-4 mark as part of a 6-0 run that would put LeTourneau up 29-25 but see UMHB get a layup and foul cut the lead down to one with 2:51 remaining in the opening period.
  • Using an 11-4 run, LETU would appear to grab momentum heading into halftime up eight, but a three-pointer for Sam Moore at the buzzer allowed the Cru to trail 40-35 at the break.
  • Both teams would match each other point for-point in the opening four minutes of the second half as LETU would manage to maintain their five-point lead despite Loggins picking up his fourth foul just one minute into the second half.
  • Despite repeated efforts from UMHB, LeTourneau continued to hold their two-possession lead before matching their largest lead of the first half as Elijah Gerber would nail a fast break trey to put the YellowJackets up 54-46.
  • LETU would then push their lead to nine with 11:03 remaining in the game but see Mary Hardin-Baylor close the gap to three with four quick points in a span of 19 seconds behind the approval of the home crowd.
  • LETU would stick to their game plan as had worked throughout the game as the YellowJackets took their largest lead of the night at 74-64 with 5:57 remaining while threatening to put the game away in crunch time.
  • Using the bonus and double-bonus to their advantage, UMHB would make one final push to cut into the LeTourneau lead as a pair of Demarius Cross free throws put the score at 80-78 with 1:35 remaining and made the next LETU possession crucial for the YellowJackets.
  • Needing a bucket to not risk giving the Cru a chance at tying the game or taking the lead, senior Seth Mattson would step up in the moment as he would drain a three with less than five seconds remaining on the shot clock to put LeTourneau up 83-78 with 1:08 remaining.
  • The final 68 seconds would wind up becoming a free-throw shooting contest as UMHB would be unable to close the gap any closer than three due to West and Moore coming through in the clutch at the charity stripe to give LETU a five-point victory.
Key Stats:
  • As they have done throughout the season, LETU would use three-point shooting to help come away with the victory after outscoring UMHB 24-12 from beyond the arc.
  • The game would also see a battle in the paint as the YellowJackets held a 46-44 advantage in points in the paint to overcome a 28-16 deficit in fast break points.
  • Leading the charge of four players in double-figures, West would score a game-high 28 points and nearly miss out on his second triple-double of his career after finishing with eight rebounds and nine assists. Seven of the nine assists would come in the second half while the junior would finish 12-for-14 at the free throw line.
What's Next?
One more weekend of pre-Christmas games remains for LeTourneau, beginning Thursday, December 6th at 7:30 p.m. when the YellowJackets host Sul Ross State. LETU's next five regular-season games come inside of Solheim Arena, where the YellowJackets are 25-4 overall since the start of the 2016-17 season.
 
 
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