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LONGVIEW – LeTourneau University men's basketball team is going dancing again.
 
The YellowJackets (23-5) will play Whitworth (21-6) in the NCAA Division III Tournament opening round 5 p.m. Friday at the University of Texas at Dallas' Activity Center in Richardson. The Jackets earned an automatic bid to the national tournament after winning the American Southwest Conference Championship Tournament.
 
It will be LeTourneau's second trip to the NCAA Tournament in school history – the first coming in 2018.
 
"The togetherness of this team is super special," said sophomore forward Garrett Beene, who had a career-high 17 points in the ASC semifinals. "I think we've got what it takes to make a good run in the tournament this year."
 
The winner of the LETU-Whitworth game will play the UT Dallas-Centenary winner at 7 p.m. Saturday in the second round.
 
Whitworth and LeTourneau have one common opponent this season, both having played Whitman. The YellowJackets beat Whitman, 111-105, in the Cru Holiday Classic over the Christmas break. The Pirates lost to Whitman, 86-80, in the Northwest Conference Championship game after splitting their two regular season league games.
 
Ben College leads Whitworth in scoring at 22.4 points per game, while shooting 43 percent from three-point range. Sam Lees is averaging 12.9 points and 6.1 rebounds. Isaiah Hernandez is scoring 12.7 points. Garrett Hull is averaging 9.3 points and six rebounds.
 
"I think it's going to be a really good challenge for us to play Whitworth first," said Beene, whose five threes in the ASC semifinals were paramount. "But I think if we work hard this week, we've got what it takes."
 
LETU's Nate West is one of two players in Division III with three triple-doubles this season. West holds a slim margin as the nation's leader in assists per game (7.4), while also topping the country in total assists (206). He ranks third in the country in total points (779) and is fourth in points per game (27.8). He also leads the team in rebounding (8.0).
 
YellowJackets junior guard Justin Moore is averaging 13.6 points and 5.6 rebounds. Freshman center John Argue is averaging 12.2 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.5 blocks. Andrew Eberhardt is averaging 10.6 points, and has knocked down 67 triples this year.
 
West and Moore played in the YellowJackets first NCAA Tournament team in 2018 when LeTourneau advanced to the second round.  
 
"I do feel that it calms the other players on our team that we have two starters on our team with NCAA Tournament experience," coach Dan Miller said. "I know the guys have already been talking to them, asking them what to expect. I think the leadership with Nate, having played in the NCAA Tournament is going to have a positive effect on our team."
 
The Pirates have made the NCAA Tournament 13 of the last 14 years, and like the YellowJackets, played a battle-tested schedule this season. LeTourneau, which received 16 votes in this week's D3hoops.com national poll, finished fourth in the South Region poll.
 
"That's really why we played the schedule we played this year … to be ready to play a team like Whitworth," Miller said. "I think both teams in this game will not be fazed by the moment."
 
Not fazed by the moment, but certainly grateful for the opportunity.
 
"It's big time," Beene said. "Our energy is high, so going into this week of practice, I think we're going to really lock in and focus what we've got to do. There's no words. It's still kind of surreal that we just won our second ASC championship. We're just going to enjoy the moment."
 
 
NCAA Division III Tournament
at UT Dallas
Richardson, Texas
Friday, March 6
5 p.m. – LeTourneau (23-5) vs. Whitworth (21-6)
7:30 p.m. – UT Dallas (21-6) vs. Centenary (18-9)
Saturday, March 7
7 p.m. – LETU/WU winner vs. UTD/CC winner