MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- LeTourneau University men's basketball team fell to Benedictine (Ill.), 81-78, in the opening game of the Rhodes Tip-Off Tournament Saturday.

It was the first loss of the season for the YellowJackets, who will play Millikin in Sunday's 2 p.m. consolation game. Benedictine improved to 2-1.

Four players scored in double figures for LETU (1-1), but it wasn't enough. The Eagles also had four players reach double figures in a game that featured 10 lead changes and six ties. 

Justin Moore scored on a fastbreak with 25 seconds to play to pull the YellowJackets within one. Benedictine missed a pair at the free throw line three seconds later, but the Eagles came away with the offensive rebound to retain possession. Once again, LeTourneau sent the Eagles to the line, and Benedictine missed another two free throws, giving the Jackets new life. After each team turned the ball over, Benedictine's Kyle Graebner hit a layup with five seconds left to put the Eagles ahead three. Moore's last-second three was off the mark, and Benedictine survived.

Moore finished with 22 points, seven rebounds, three assists, a block and a steal. Nate West had 18 points, eight assists and seven rebounds, and Andrew Eberhardt scored 13 for the YellowJackets. Eberhardt was 5 of 9 from the field, and 3 of 6 from the three-point line. John Argue added 10 points, eight boards, a block and a steal. Mike Boatright had 30 points, 10 rebounds and four steals, and Eric Grygo 18 points and 11 boards for the Eagles.

The Jackets' bench outscored the Eagles, 33-4, including a 16-0 edge in the first half. LETU was 12 of 14 from the free throw line for 85.7 percent. Benedictine went 13-for-23 for 56.5 percent. The YellowJackets shot 40.3 percent from the field and 30.8 percent from 3-point range. The Eagles hit 40.8 percent of their field goals, but went 24 percent from long distance. 

Moore converted a three-point play with 7:41 to play in the first half to give LeTourneau a 26-21 lead. Benedictine used a 6-0 run to reclaim control. Moore sank a pair from the stripe to give the Jackets a 28-27 lead with 6:11 remaining. Following a defensive rebound by Argue, Moore scored again to make put LETU up three. But Benedictine's Nick Kosich hit a triple eight seconds later to tie the game for the fifth time. That triggered a 12-0 Eagles run to push Benedictine in front, 39-30. 

Argue ended the Eagles' spurt when he put back an offensive rebound. West sank two free throws, and Argue scored at the 2:47 mark as LeTourneau trimmed the gap to three. After Benedictine's Kenny Bogus knocked down a jumper in the paint, Argue hit a bucket in the lane to keep it a three-point game. The Eagles closed the half on a 5-0 run to take a 46-38 lead into the locker room.

The YellowJackets were 15 of 37 from the floor in the first half. The Eagles converted 18 of 41 field goals.

LeTourneau fell behind by 11 less than a minute into the second half before West scored the game's next nine points in a minute to bring the Jackets within two. After a 1:39 scoreless drought for both teams, West found Eberhardt in transition to tie the game at 49-49. But Boatright canned a triple on the next trip down the floor, giving the Eagles the lead again. 

LETU got within two four times over the next 10 minutes, the last on a field goal by Kyle Matthews with 5:17 to play. Benedictine stretched its lead back to eight on Grygo's layup at the 3:08 mark. Eberhardt hit a three with just over a minute remaining to cut the deficit to three, and Moore's basket made it a one-point game, but the YellowJackets couldn't overcome the Eagles in crunch time.

The Jackets were outrebounded, 51-42. LeTourneau hit 5 of 14 triples in the second half, while Benedictine was 2-for-12 from long distance.