LONGVIEW, Texas – Sophomore
Deonte Jackson fuels LETU to an 80-72, senior day victory at Solheim Arena Saturday.
The YellowJackets improve to 18-4 overall, including 13-4 in American Southwest Conference play, while Hardin-Simmons dropped to 14-7, 10-6.
Coming off the bench, Jackson posted 30 points, one shy of his season high hitting 11 of 16 from the field, including 6 of 8 from behind the arc.
Trailing 21-16, with 9:10 left in the opening 20 minutes, Jackson outscored the Cowboys 9-4 in a minute, draining a trifecta of threes and knotting the game at 25-25.
Christian Adams collected a miss and hit senior
Kyle Matthews in stride with an outlet pass. Matthews found fellow senior
Warren Richardson in the open and he gave the YellowJackets the lead for good with a thunderous dunk at the 7:06 mark.
Holding a 39-38 advantage at halftime, Hardin-Simmons kept it close in the early part of the final frame. An 18-9 run nudged LETU's margin out to 65-55, its largest advantage of the contest, with 9:57 remaining. The YellowJackets kept a two to three possession cushion the rest of the way.
Senior
Andrew Eberhardt netted 20 points and six rebounds, while Richardson tallied 17 points and eight boards. Matthews corralled six rebounds, handed out six assists and secured a pair of steals.
Justin Moore,
Taye Carter, Jordan and
Rashard Johnson joined Eberhardt in the starting five, the first time LETU opened with five seniors all season.
Jordan Pride stuffed the stat sheet with five points, seven rebounds, three steals, two assists and a block.
Elijah Gerber handed out a pair of helpers in his final home game.
The YellowJackets close out the 2021-22 campaign with a pair of road tilts, beginning Tuesday against UTD at 7:30.
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