LAKE CHARLES, La. -- In the first of two exhibitions against Division I foes this season, the LeTourneau men's basketball team put on a solid showing in an 81-49 loss at McNeese State on Tuesday night inside Legacy Center.

LeTourneau (2-0) will carry its undefeated regular season record into its trip to the Pacific Northwest later this week.

Walker Baline hit four 3-pointers and had 14 points with six rebounds while Jackson Mayes had nine points with six assists, six rebounds, and two steals. Branson Lynn added eight points, Alex Ferrell seven, and Jalen Cherry hit two 3-pointers to chip in six points. Logan Brinkoeter had seven points with a block and Christian Adams tallied two points with four rebounds and a block.

LeTourneau hung with McNeese through the first 20 minutes of action. Blaine hit three 3-pointers and the YellowJackets hit six in the opening half to stick with the Cowboys.

Blaine hit 3-pointers on consecutive possessions to get LeTourneau within 10-8 with 16:32 left in the period. A Caedmon Liebengood three-point play made it 13-11 and the YellowJacket defense held the Cowboys scoreless over a three-minute stretch to stay within striking distance.

MBB |

Back-to-back triples from Walker Blaine and @LETUMBB is within 5 (13-8) of McNeese at first media timeout.

WATCH: ESPN+#LeTourneauBuilt #d3hoops pic.twitter.com/BvaQZFpd8y

— LeTourneau Athletics (@LETUAthletics) November 15, 2023

After a Mayes 3-pointer trimmed the YellowJacket deficit to 21-19 with 8:47 left in the half, McNeese rattled off a 16-0 run to stretch the lead to 18 (37-19) and took a 44-27 lead into the break.

In the second half, the YellowJackets limited McNeese to only 41 percent shooting and were neck-and-neck with the Cowboys in second-half scoring until the final minutes.

LeTourneau hit 10 3-pointers and connected on 28.8 percent (17-of-59) from the field overall.

DJ Richards led McNeese (4-0) with 15 points and Christian Shumate had a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds. The Cowboys shot 48.5 percent (32-of-66) for the game but were only 6-of-20 from deep and 11-of-19 from the foul line.

UP NEXT

LeTourneau heads to Oregon on Saturday to face Lewis & Clark (3 p.m. CST/1 p.m. PST).

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