MARSHALL, Texas -- A back-and-forth defensive battle saw the LeTourneau men's basketball team take a six-point lead at halftime before host East Texas Baptist rallied and secured a 66-61 win over the YellowJackets in ASC action on Saturday afternoon in Ornelas Gymnasium.
Warren Richardson broke the program's single-game record with seven blocks and added 12 points, nine rebounds, and four assists.
Jackson Mayes led all YellowJackets with 16 points, including four 3-pointers.
John Argue notched a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds, with
Deonte Jackson adding 12 points and seven rebounds, and
Christian Adams tallying nine points and two assists.
LeTourneau (9-12, 6-8 ASC) led by six (31-25) at halftime after Mayes connected on a 3-pointer at the buzzer.Â
The two teams battled through the second half. LeTourneau's defense clamped down throughout led by Richardson's seven blocks. The YellowJackets held ETBU to its second-lowest point total of the year, just one off the 65 LeTourneau limited the Tigers to back in December.
A pair of Richardson free throws with 12:24 left in the game gave LeTourneau a 41-34 lead. ETBU rallied back and used a 7-0 run to even the score.
The teams traded the lead over the final nine minutes of the game. An alley-oop from Adams to Richardson gave the YellowJackets a 51-48 edge with 5:47 remaining, but ETBU quickly tied the score once again.
With the game tied and under a minute left, ETBU's Aaron Gregg made a driving layup with 36 seconds left to give the Tigers a 63-61 lead. LeTourneau was unable to get a shot off on its next possession and an offensive rebound on a missed ETBU free moments later allowed the Tigers to go back to the line and stretch the lead to 65-61.
ETBU (16-5, 10-4 ASC) got 22 points and 11 rebounds from Darry Moore, while Gregg scored 18 points with six assists. ETBUÂ shot 47.4 percent (27-of-57) from the field and limited to just two made 3-pointers.
LeTourneau shot 38.6 percent (22-of-57) and 13-of-17 from the free throw line.
UP NEXT
LeTourneau returns home on Thursday to face Howard Payne (7:30 p.m.).
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