LONGVIEW, Texas -- The LeTourneau men's basketball team put on an offensive showcase in their home opener to defeat Sewanee, 106-97, on Friday evening.

This was the second game of the LETU Classic inside of Solheim Arena. 

The victory moves LeTourneau to 3-1 on the season, while Sewanee drops to 2-4.

Deonte Jackson had a season-high 33 points to lead all scorers, while Caedmon Liebengood added 29 and Teigan Edwards scored 20. Connor Miller snatched a team-best eight rebounds and Walker Blaine had five assists to pace the team in that category.

The first half opened with both teams keeping it close, as the score was 9-7 early. Then, the YellowJackets caught fire, going on a 7-0 run and extending the lead to 16-9. The scoring started with Liebengood knocking down a short jumper in the paint, and then Logan Brinkoeter's layup and Blaine's 3-pointer completed the run. 

LeTourneau led by as many as 19 at one point in the first half, going on another big run (14-2), with the big shots being Jackson and Alex Bossinakis' back-to-back 3-pointers. The YellowJackets used that momentum to cruise to a seven-point halftime lead.

Another early tit-for-tat portion started the second half, but, almost mirroring the first half, LeTourneau went on another 7-0 run, although this time it was Liebengood and Bossinakis doing the scoring.

The YellowJackets kept up the onslaught for majority of the half, with Liebengood notching 23 points in the second half to keep the Tigers at bay, and then Edwards scored eight points on free throws in the waning moments to close the door.

Overall, LeTourneau shot a strong 52.1 percent from the field and outscored Sewanee 34-12 in bench points, an indicator of the depth head coach James Wallace and associate head coach and recruiting coordinator Joel Wallace have assembled.

The Tigers had five players in double figure scoring, led by Tre Corrigan's 21 points and team-leading eight assists. Graham Smith snagged a team-high 10 rebounds as well for Sewanee.

UP NEXT

The YellowJackets will play their second game of the LETU Classic tomorrow afternoon at 4 p.m. against Concordia-Chicago.

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