LONGVIEW, Texas --
Christian Adams marks a career-high 19 points as LeTourneau hangs on to fend off rival East Texas Baptist 70-65, gaining the YellowJackets' first ASC win.
LeTourneau (4-7, 1-4 ASC) extended their win streak over East Texas Baptist (8-2, 4-1) to eight straight, the Tigers still lead the series 23-22.
The YellowJakcets started out in style with a block from
Caleb Ceasar on an Aaron Gregg attempted layup. A pair of
Deonte Jackson kept the score level in the feeling-out portion of the evening.
Jackson Mayes put up a nice three-point play drawing the foul in the paint and draining the free throw to put the score at 11-8, Jackets ahead. Gregg evened the score with a long-range 3-pointer before the media timeout with 11 minutes in the first half.
The Back and forth battle continued as there were 10 lead changes and nine tied scores in the first half alone.
With just under four minutes to go in the half, the YellowJackets went on a 6-0 run capped off with a
Warren Richardson put-back dunk.
East Texas Baptist would claw back to tie up the game at 29-29 before heading into the locker room.
The YellowJackets shot 52% from the field going 13-for-25 and 28.6% from beyond the arc going 2-for-7 in the first half. The Tigers went 13-for-30 from the field shooting 43.3% and 2-for-6 from range going 33.3% in the period.
The YellowJackets came out from the break and went on an 11-0 run by the likes of a
Walker Blaine layup, a couple from Mayes, and a Ceasar bucket, leaving the score at 40-29 with just over 15 minutes in the game.
LeTourneau would extend the lead to as large as 15 points with Richardson recording a pair of dunks on the evening. The Jackets held the lead 56-41 with 7:40 showing on the clock.
The Tigers did not leave without putting up a fight, as they worked the score to be within five with two minutes left, 64-59 LeTourneau ahead. However, a big dunk from Adams put a nice exclamation mark on the lead.
The Tigers, rallying for a comeback, went down and drew a foul, Kevin Charles went 1-for-2 from the line bringing the deficit to six at 66-60, YellowJackets lead. A Gregg 3-pointer brought the Tigers within one score with 54 seconds remaining.
The YellowJackets went down the court where Jackson was fouled and went to the line and drained both free throws. The last effort for the Tigers was a quick basket scored by Charles to bring the deficit back to three points with 25 seconds remaining. Mayes was then fouled and he went 2-for-2 from the line to cement the victory for the YellowJackets.
A couple of career-highs for the YellowJackets as Adams scored 19 points, Mayes had 15 points, and Richardson marked five blocks, just one short from tying the school record.
Adams also had five rebounds, two assists, and two steals while Richardson put up 12 points, nine rebounds, and four assists.
East Texas Baptist had a few players with double-digits, Charles put up 21 points and 10 rebounds earning himself a double-double. Gregg put up 24 points, eight rebounds, and three assists.
UP NEXT
The YellowJackets will travel to Houston on Tuesday where they will face St.Thomas for their last nonconference game. Tip-off is set for 6:30 PM.
