LONGVIEW, Texas -- Men's basketball played their hearts out, but ultimately fell to Hardin-Simmons in another thriller at Solheim Arena, 77-73.

The YellowJackets fall to 13-4 (1-1 ASC), while the Cowboys improve to 9-8 (2-0 ASC).

Deonte Jackson had another excellent scoring output with 26 points, his 13th 20-plus point outing of the campaign. Jackson Mayes added 14 and Teigan Edwards added 13 for LeTourneau. Edwards and Jackson added three steals each as well.

In the first half, Hardin-Simmons was able to gain an eight point lead with 11:24 left in the half, but the YellowJackets answered back with a 7-2 run to close it to three. LeTourneau then tied it with 8:39 remaining, thanks to an Edwards three and a pair of Mayes free throws.

The remainder of the half was neck-and-neck, as the Cowboys used an and-1 from Trevion Howell to take a 39-36 lead at the break.

After a short burst by Hardin-Simmons to get the lead up to five early in the second half, the YellowJackets exploded for a 19-4 stretch that gave them an eight point lead with 13:32 to play. Logan Brinkoeter scored four big points in this stretch to aid the run.

The lead got as high as nine for LeTourneau, but the Cowboys were able to respond with a 19-3 run of their own to re- assume the lead with 4:53 to play. 

The YellowJackets were far from done, however, slowly inching their way back into the game. An Edwards layup cut it to two with 2:02 to go, and the Jackson trimmed it down to two again with a pair of free throws with under a minute to play.

However, Will Bartoszek hit a pair of free throws to seal the deal as a couple of late opportunities for LeTourneau just missed.

Austin Brewer had 15 points and nine rebounds to pace the Cowboys, with Bartoszek and Alexander Matthew adding 13 each.

UP NEXT

The YellowJackets will hit the road on Thursday and face UT Dallas at 7:30 p.m.

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