ASC CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL

LONGVIEW – Elijah Gerber didn't waste time.

"Yeah, Nate West. Yeah," the LeTourneau University sophomore forward said, eliciting some laughs. 

Sure, there's been a lot of to-do about West this year, yet this YellowJackets team is complete. With good guard play, an emerging post presence, some high flyers and the intangibles that contribute to success, the Jackets are talented and tested. Now it's time to lay it all out there in the American Southwest Conference Championship Tournament.
LeTourneau (20-5) meets Mary Hardin-Baylor (15-10) in the ASC quarterfinals 5 p.m. Thursday at Sul Ross State in Alpine, Texas. The tournament runs through Saturday's championship game.

LETU is making its eighth appearance in the league postseason event. It is the fifth consecutive year the Jackets qualified. Still, they seek a title they've never won. Two years ago, they lost to East Texas Baptist in the semifinals in Alpine. In 2017, they fell to Hardin-Simmons in the championship.

Time to turn the page and focus on 2020. And that includes the 20-20 vision the Jackets had from November until now in pressing to collect 20 wins.

"The regular season's been great, taking it one game at a time, making sure we're all together for every game," sophomore forward Korrin Taylor said. "It was awesome, it means a lot, but going into the tournament, it's all behind us now. We're focused on Thursday and UHMB at 5 o'clock."

LeTourneau beat Mary Hardin-Baylor, 96-86, two weeks ago in Solheim Arena. The YellowJackets have won the last five in the series. They fell to the Crusaders in the 2013 ASC quarterfinals. But that was before the Dan Miller era – an era that just celebrated its 100^th career victory.

"We want to get 101, 102, 103 this week," Miller said. "Hopefully we can get it done."

The Jackets have been getting it done in many ways this year. They own the ASC's top-scoring offense at 88.8 points per game, which ranks 13^th in NCAA Division III. They have one of the top players in the country, and a talented crew around him that make this team dangerous on any floor.

"We have a ton of good young guys," said Gerber, who rose to the occasion with 14 points in 14 minutes in a huge win over ETBU. "We have a great sophomore class. Nate's a great senior leader, and he just believes in us, and everybody just believes in each other, so we just feed off each other's energy."

Eight sophomores surround a dynamic backcourt in Justin Moore and West. Moore is scoring 14 points per game, while pulling down 5.6 rebounds and averaging 1.8 steals. Sophomore Andrew Eberhardt is averaging 10.4 points, and shooting 38.2 percent from three-point range. Freshman John Argue is averaging 12.2 points, 6.3 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game.

It is a unit that balances itself with equilibrium that surrounds, well, what Gerber will tell you.

"Yeah, Nate West. Yeah."

A national player of the year candidate, West is the glue that surrounds this otherwise young team. But it is a team emerging in different ways. Taylor is a prime example. A late bloomer, he's started half of the games, his production flourishing in the latter stages of the season. He's shooting 57 percent from the floor, and has been in double figures four times since being inserted into the starting lineup.

"I think it's just my teammates lifting me up and believing in me more and more each game, finding me trusting me to make the right play," Taylor said. "When your teammates believe in you, when your coaches believe in you, then you start having confidence in yourself, no matter what."

Belief in each other is what makes this team special. That belief transcends itself in many ways. How it translates into the postseason is the question we now await. One thing is for sure, this team has had a lot to celebrate. The sideline celebration dances have become a fixture in a manner symbolic of what the coaches refer to as the LETU Way. Rest assured, if there's an A effort put forth in Alpine, you can bet a few more sideline antics will follow.

"We're going to break 'em out," Gerber said. "We've been working on 'em."

Yeah, Elijah Gerber. Yeah.