LONGVIEW, Texas – Clutch gene? It belongs to Andrew Eberhardt on the LETU men's basketball team, who notched his second game-winning bucket of the season Monday.

"Drew was the hero again but it was a full team effort," Head Coach James Wallace said. "Warren had a huge first half to keep us close. Jordan Pride and Kyle Matthews didn't light up the scoreboard but were a +16 & +8 respectively when they were on the floor."

Playing their first game in Solheim Arena in 37 days, the YellowJackets overcame their largest deficit of the season and escaped with an 85-84 victory over UT Dallas (9-4, 5-3).

"Facing double-digit deficits on multiple occassions and a hot-shooting UT Dallas squad, our guys showed incredible grit and toughness tonight," Wallace said.

Deonte Jackson and Eberhardt fueled the rally, accounting for 35 of the team's 48 points in the final stanza. Jackson netted 22 of his game-high 25 points in the final period, draining 5 of 8 field-goal attempts, including 4 of 5 from three-point range.

Eberhardt's put back with 3.4 ticks remaining on the clock might not be as dramatic as his 40-foot heave at the buzzer against ETBU, however it kept LETU's unblemished record at home intact. With the victory, the YellowJackets moved into a first-place tie with UMHB at 7-2 atop the American Southwest Conference standing and 12-2.

Leading 39-37 at intermission, the Comets' looked to deliver the knockout blow with a 16-4 run.

LETU trailed 55-41, with 14:46 remaining and didn't seem to have an answer for the visitor's hot-shooting offense. Jordan Pride buried a three-pointer from the left wing on the next offensive possession, igniting a spark and a 24-10 run over the next seven minutes.

During the stretch, the YellowJackets hit 8 of 10 field-goal attempts, including 5 of 6 behind the arc. Jackson outscored the Comets by himself during the spurt, draining 4 of 5 from distance.

"We knew the gravity of this game and we rose to the occassion," Wallace said. "We talk a lot about responding and our guys did that in a big way."

UTD claimed control again by scoring 14 of the next 19 points and building a 79-69 cushion with three and a half minutes remaining.

Eberhardt, Jackson and Warren Richardson, LETU's top three scorers, accounted for the team's final 16 points, while holding the Comets to seven over the span, enabling Eberhardt's last-second heroics.

Jackson finished with 25 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals. Eberhardt registered his fourth 20-point game in succession with 20 points, seven boards and six helpers. Richardson tallied 21 points, five rebounds and a pair of steals. Christian Adams and Kyce Wilson added seven-points each.

"Our fans provided a big boost, huge shout-out to the Blue Crew and the Longview community for bringing the home court advantage to Solheim Arena tonight," Wallace said. It was a BIG part of us coming away with the win."

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