LONGVIEW – Justin Moore and Nate West doubled up for 30 spots, and LeTourneau University men's basketball team used a big second half to beat Mary Hardin-Baylor Saturday, 96-86.

Moore finished with a career-high 32 points, eight rebounds, two steals and a block, and West had 30 points, 10 boards, nine assists, a block and an assist in a dynamite display by the backcourt mates. But it took a second half comeback to overcome a game effort from the Crusaders, who were hoping to play the spoiler role on this day.

"We knew we'd get their best shot," YellowJackets coach Dan Miller said. "They came out firing, and we came out cold in the first half. We got a lot of good looks. We took too many three-pointers to be honest with you, and should have got the ball inside and drove it a little bit more in the first half. But the second half the shooting picked up, and we just always believe we have a chance, and at the end the guys made enough plays."

LeTourneau (18-5, 11-3 American Southwest Conference) was 13 of 38 from the three-point line. Mary Hardin-Baylor was 13 of 30.

"When two teams are even like that, it comes down to attention to detail," Miller said. "I think we made the extra pass, and we made a point of it today in the second half, and that got us some good looks."

Mary Hardin-Baylor (13-10, 5-9) led at the break, and extended its lead to eight with back-to-back three-pointers to open the second half. Andrew Eberhardt sank two free throws, and then stuck one of his four triples in a back-and-forth exchange between the two sides as LETU pulled within 46-39. Elijah Gerber scored in the paint at the 15:40 mark as the YellowJackets pulled within four. Moore buried a 3, and was fouled for a four-point play – something the Jackets have experienced a rash of lately – to give LeTourneau a 57-56 lead with 13:18 remaining. It was the YellowJackets' first lead since the 17:26 mark in the first half.

"UHMB is a talented team," said Eberhardt, who finished with 18 points, nine rebounds and two steals. "Coach (Miller) got us ready for it, and we knew they weren't going to back down because they're trying to get into the tournament, so we just try to keep fighting to the very end."

Prior to Moore's go-ahead basket, that was the last lead the Crusaders had as the YellowJackets used two triples by Garrett Beene to push their advantage to eight points. Mary Hardin-Baylor closed to within three on Sam Moore's transition triple at the 8:28 mark, but Eberhardt canned another three minutes later to bump the Jackets' lead back to eight.

Eberhardt's triple with 2:03 remaining, and Moore's dunk a minute later gave the YellowJackets a 12-point edge they did not surrender. UHMB led for over 23 minutes, and held a 12-point advantage in the first half. LETU made 10 of its triples in the second half.

"Offense helps a lot, but our defense is what's going to win our games down the stretch," Eberhardt said.

Moore went a career-best 12 of 19 from the floor.

"He's crazy," Eberhardt said. "We get on him all the time because his left hand is … we say, 'On 99,' because he doesn't miss when he goes left."

LETU outscored UHMB, 36-30, in the paint. LeTourneau's bench was outscored for the second straight game – this time, 23-8 – but Gerber's key layup triggered the comeback, and Beene's two big triples delivered the knockout blow.

"They help us every day in practice, playing defense on us, and they come in and knock down shots in a big way," Eberhardt said of the bench.

The YellowJackets will host Louisiana College Thursday and Belhaven on Senior Day next Saturday.

"Both the teams we play next week are going to be fighting for that last playoff spot in the ASC East, so we're going to get their best shot," Miller said. "So for us to reach our regular season goal of 20 wins, we have to be really dialed in and focused more so than I thought our start showed today to get those wins."