LONGVIEW, Texas -- LeTourneau men's hoops used an emphatic second half run to defeat Centenary at Solheim Arena, 75-59, on Friday evening.

Deonte Jackson had a game-high 26 points for the YellowJackets, while Caedmon Liebengood and Teigan Edwards had 10 apiece. Logan Brinkoeter had 9 rebounds, which led all players, and Jackson, Cooper Smith, and Connor Miller had the best assist mark of the game with three apiece.

The first half was close throughout, with five points being the largest lead for either team. After Centenary (1-7) took said five-point lead with 8:39 remaining in the first half, the YellowJackets (7-2) went on a 7-0 run to steal back the advantage. Walker Blaine hit a couple of layups in this stretch to set the tone.

After another small run by the Gents, LeTourneau got a big Jackson 3-pointer to re-take the lead, 27-24. They would close the half up by three, 29-26.

Another Jackson three extended the lead to seven early in the second half, but Centenary would not go away, eventually closing it to three with 10:56 to go. 

LeTourneau had seen enough. 

The YellowJackets exploded for a 19-2 run in the following 4:55 of play, extending the lead to 20, 62-42. Edwards scored six in the run, while Smith and Miller hit back-to-back 3-pointers as well to aid the offensive splurge.

The YellowJackets coasted from there, keeping the Gents offense in check the rest of the way. 

As the outcome appeared clear, the coaching staff decided to insert some important pieces of the roster into the game to get some long-awaited debuts. Freshmen Luke Anderson and Dalton White appeared in a collegiate game for the first time, while sophomore Gavin Landenberger and freshmen Ben Formby and Ezra Seay made their first appearances at Solheim Arena on the campaign.

For the Gents, Jakobi Greenleaf led the scoring and rebounding departments with 20 points and eight rebounds, while Sirwilliam McDuffie had 12 points off the bench

UP NEXT

The YellowJackets will play at home on Wednesday against Dallas at 7 p.m.

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