LONGVIEW – LeTourneau University men's basketball team let one get away Thursday, falling 84-78 to Hardin-Simmons in the American Southwest Conference opener.
 
LETU (2-1, 0-1 ASC) held a 17-point lead after Deonte Jackson canned a triple with 14:13 to play. But HSU (6-2, 1-0) erased the double-digit deficit with a 15-5 run to pull within seven at the 9:41 mark. Andrew Eberhardt and Jackson each knocked down jumpers within a 24-second span to keep the Jackets ahead by nine, but the Cowboys sliced the Jackets' lead to two on Aidan Walsh's layup at the 6:50 mark.
 
Hardin-Simmons went on a 10-0 run over a 1:58 span to take a six-point lead. John Argue scored with 2:08 remaining as LeTourneau tied the game at 75, but the Cowboys scored the next five points before Eberhardt buried a 3-pointer with 27 seconds to play to pull within one possession. But the YellowJackets couldn't get over the hump, and the Cowboys held on.
 
It was LETU's ninth straight loss at home to HSU.
 
Ebehardt finished with 24 points and four steals. Argue had 18 points, 13 rebounds, three blocks and two steals. Jackson scored 16 points, and had eight assists, five steals and five rebounds. Jordan Pride had nine points and two steals.
 
Walsh scored 29 points, and had six boards, and Trey Wooldridge had 21 points and 11 rebounds for Hardin-Simmons, which outrebounded LeTourneau, 48-37.
 
The Jackets shot 42 percent, while the Cowboys hit 50 percent of their field goals. LeTourneau was 9 of 26 from three-point range. Hardin-Simmons shot 7 of 16 from beyond the arc. LETU shot 57.7 percent from the free throw line. HSU hit 47.8 percent of its shots from the stripe.
 
In the second half, Hardin-Simmons shot 57.6 percent from the floor, while LeTourneau hit 38.7 percent of its field goals.
 
The YellowJackets host McMurry 3 p.m. Saturday before spending the two weeks on the road.