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LONGVIEW – The YellowJackets did something no other American Southwest Conference team had done this year, and Justin Moore and Nate West each reached milestones in front of a packed house in Solheim Arena.

LeTourneau University men's basketball team knocked off East Texas Baptist, 92-85, Thursday night. It was ETBU's first ASC loss of the season. The win moved the YellowJackets (14-4, 7-2 ASC) within a game of the Tigers (15-3, 8-1) in the East Division standings.

Both teams will meet again 3 p.m. Saturday in Marshall, Texas.

Moore reached his 1,000^th career point, and West joined the 2,000-point club. West became the first player in ASC history to score 2,000 points. He is the third YellowJacket to do so. Moore scored four minutes into the game to give the Jackets an eight-point lead.

"It felt amazing," Moore said of his milestone. "Nate called an isolation play, and I said, 'I got to get this 1K.' It's just a blessing."

The YellowJackets shot 50 percent in the first half, going 18 of 36 from the floor, including 8 of 18 from downtown. West scored 22 of his 33 points in the opening half as LeTourneau built a 47-34 lead. He finished one assist shy of a triple-double. He leads the nation with three this year.

LETU led by as many as 17 in the half, cashing in on John Argue's rainbow three-pointer with 5:00 on the clock. Chris Haynes scored 3:25 later to bring the Tigers within 11. West, who needed 28 points to reach 2,000, sank two free throws in the closing seconds to give the Jackets the 13-point lead at the break.

ETBU opened the second half with a 12-0 run, pulling within one on Jordan Gray's three.

"Two teams that are really playing at a high level really competed," Jackets coach Dan Miller said. "We got off to a fast start the first half, and they got off to a fast start the second half. We were fortunate to make a few more plays than them at the end, but they're a really good team. Their senior veteran players got them right back in the game."

Argue knocked down another 3 to give the YellowJackets a four-point cushion, but the Tigers responded, taking a 51-50 lead on Nathan Fontenot's triple at the 15:27 mark.

Kyle Matthews, who finished with six points and seven rebounds, scored to give the YellowJackets the lead back before Robby Dooley countered for the Tigers. Moore knocked down a jumper in transition, but Jarrell Taylor scored in the paint in the see-saw second half affair.

"Coach talks about adversity," said Moore, who finished with 11 points. "Whenever they make runs, he tells us, 'Calm down.' Nate is the one on the court, telling us to calm down. We work on it play by play. It starts with defense, and carries over to our offense."

Elijah Gerber scored with 11:45 remaining to put the YellowJackets up three. He added a layup on a find from Warren Richardson, following a block by Matthews, to pad the lead to seven at the midway point.

"Whenever I step in, all the guys have the confidence in me, and (they're) telling me all the time that they believe in me," said Gerber, who had 14 points and a block, despite playing with four fouls. "So I took the charge, and it's great to look over and see the bench going crazy. Having the team have faith in me, that's really nice."

Richardson's field goal at the 8:27 mark put the YellowJackets on top, 71-63. ETBU cut it to one on Fontenot's 3-pointer 2:10 later as the ebb and flow of the Solheim crowd wavered back and forth.

"With the ETBU being here, it was phenomenal," Moore said. "They were also cheering for us at one point. You would think that for a rivalry we would be going head to head, but they actually support us, and we support them. When it's game time, we support each other."

Dooley sank two free throws with 5:30 remaining as the Tigers took a one-point lead. Moore scored on the next trip down the floor to put LeTourneau back in front before Haynes answered on the other end to swing the momentum back to East Texas Baptist.

ETBU led for only 2:42 in a game otherwise predominantly controlled by LETU – the Jackets led for over 35 minutes. Yet it was a game that featured 10 lead changes and three ties. Haynes' layup with 5:02 to play gave the Tigers their biggest lead, 77-75. But Gerber scored on one of West's nine assists, and then buried a triple with 2:29 to play to put the Jackets ahead five. Gerber scored with 55 seconds remaining to make it a seven-point game, and Matthews sank two free throws to essentially put it away.

"Shoutout to all the fans," Gerber said. "ETBU, too. It was really rockin'. We have one of the best student sections in the ASC, and it's really nice to have that home court advantage."

Haynes finished with 27 points and 10 rebounds, and Dooley had 24 points, nine boards and three steals. Andrew Eberhardt had 11 points, five rebounds and two steals. Argue had 10 points, nine boards and three blocks. Richardson also had three of LETU's nine blocks.

"Proud of our guys for getting a win, and we'll have to refocus to turn right around and play 'em again," Miller said. "The Blue Crew was loud, and (gave us) energy, and we ask if they have some time to do it again on Saturday."