ALPINE, Texas – Piling up wins is more important than style points for any team with postseason aspirations, especially on the road against a conference foe in late January.
 
That's exactly what LETU accomplished with a 98-96 overtime win at Sul Ross State's Gallego Center State.
 
The YellowJackets own sole possession atop the American Southwest Conference standings at 14-2, 9-2. They nudged ahead of UMHB, which was idle Saturday, by a half game. The Lobos fell to ninth in the league at 6-11, 3-9.
 
Andrew Eberhardt carried the squad in overtime, notching eight of his 25 points in the extra period. Without Deonte Jackson's career day and Warren Richardson's sixth double-double of the season, Eberhardt wouldn't have had the opportunity to deliver in the clutch once again.
 
Jackson registered his first career double-double with 31 points and a career-high 11 assists, adding five rebounds, a steal and drawing a game-high eight fouls. Richardson notched his sixth double-double of the season with 16 points, 19 boards, dishing out four helpers and a rejection.
 
Knotted at 87-87, with 3:05 left in the extra period, Eberhardt went to work, scoring eight of his team's final 11 points. His eight points was one less than the entire Lobos' roster during the spurt. He filled out his final stat line with eight boards, three steals and two blocks.
 
All five starters registered at least 10 points in the contest. Kyle Matthews added 16 points and eight rebounds, while Christian Adams totaled 10 points, seven boards, an assist and steal.
 
In a seesaw affair that featured 10 ties and eight lead changes, with neither side holding a three-possession advantage at any point in the contest, the YellowJackets overcame their second halftime deficit of the week.
 
LETU faced its largest deficit of the opening half at 25-19 before holding its biggest advantage by outscoring the Lobos 18-10 over a five-minute spurt. Sul Ross rattled off 10 of the final 14 points and held a three-point margin as the teams headed to the locker rooms.
 
Both sides kept things close in the final 20 minutes of regulation, recording matching 7-0 runs. The Lobos biggest margin was six at the 10:41 mark, while the YellowJackets appeared poised to close out the game in regulation. Sul Ross State erased a seven-point margin with 90 seconds left on the clock, with a 10-3 run to force overtime.
 
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