LONGVIEW, Texas -- Time and time again this season, the LeTourneau men's basketball team has found a way to win close games.
The YellowJackets were at it again on Thursday night as
Deonte Jackson's jumper with 2.6 seconds left broke a tie and gave LeTourneau a 65-63 victory over Highway 80 rival East Texas Baptist in ASC action inside a packed Solheim Arena.
Jackson finished with 17 points to lead LeTourneau (13-8, 8-5 ASC) as the victory put the YellowJackets into third place in the ASC standings with just two weeks left in the regular season.
Caedmon Liebengood and
Jackson Mayes each had 11 points, while
Alex Ferrell added nine points and
Christian Adams had eight points -- including a monster dunk in the first half -- and five blocks.
The win moved LeTourneau to 7-1 this season in games decided by one possession or overtime. It was also LeTourneau's 10th over ETBU over the last 12 games in the all-time series.
It looked as though LeTourneau would not need any late heroics. The YellowJackets trailed by one at halftime (35-34), but took a 40-39 lead on Ferrell's driving layup with 16:39 left in the half. That bucket sparked a 12-2 run over a five-minute stretch, capped by a Liebengood 3-pointer that gave the YellowJackets a 50-41 lead with 10:53 to go.
ETBU (11-10, 7-6 ASC) got within 52-48 before another spurt gave LeTourneau its largest lead of the night. The YellowJackets used a 10-2 scoring run to go ahead 62-50 after a
Walker Blaine dunk at the 4:43 mark.
The visiting Tigers chipped away at the margin and outscored the YellowJackets 13-1 over the next three minutes to knot the score at 63 apiece with 1:17 remaining.
Both teams picked up defensive stops, with Mayes blocking Jaden Conner's attempt with 27 seconds left that gave the ball back to the YellowJackets with a chance to win.
Jackson took control and nailed a tough 10-foot jumper with 2.6 seconds left to give LeTourneau a 65-63 lead. ETBU's final chance was defended well as LeTourneau knocked away a pass and did not allow the Tigers to get off a shot before time expired.
LeTourneau made 50.9 percent (27-of-53) from the field and went 7-of-10 at the free throw line.
ETBU got 19 points and 12 rebounds from Darry Moore, while Ryan Elzy added 13 points. The Tigers connected on only 36.8 percent (25-of-68) and were 0-for-11 from 3-point land.
UP NEXT
LeTourneau returns to action on Feb. 8 at Sul Ross State (7:30 p.m.).
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Be sure to follow LeTourneau athletics all season long on letuathletics.com and social media at Facebook, Twitter/X and Instagram for up-to-date scores, news, and other information.
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