RICHARDSON, Texas -- Connor Miller and Walker Blaine drained clutch 3-pointers in the final two minutes and the LeTourneau men's basketball team erased a 12-point second-half deficit to defeat UT Dallas, 72-69, on Thursday night.

LeTourneau (14-4) snapped a five-game losing streak to UT Dallas (11-7) and won the likely final meeting between the programs in Richardson as the Comets move to Division II next season.

It did not come easy for the YellowJackets.

LeTourneau trailed by six (35-29) at the half and UT Dallas stretched that margin to 12 (49-37) after an AJ Carter free throw with 14:35 left in the game.

Like last week's historic 33-point comeback over Howard Payne, LeTourneau made its run. The YellowJackets used a 13-0 scoring run over a three-plus minute stretch to take a 50-49 lead with 10:59 remaining. Miller started the streak with a 3-pointer and a layup from Teigan Edwards gave the YellowJackets their first lead since early in the first half.

The teams went back-and-forth over the next several minutes before Miller's 3-pointer with 1:57 left gave LeTourneau a 65-62 lead. After the teams traded free throws, Blaine drilled a triple to stretch the YellowJacket lead to six (70-64) with one minute left.

UT Dallas had one last chance with 12 seconds left down by three, but Jordan Balderaz's off-balance 3-pointer was off the mark.

Deonte Jackson tallied another 20-point game as he scored a game-high 25 points and went 10-of-12 from free throw line. It was his 14th 20-point effort on the year and pushed his career point total to 2,110.

Miller finished with 14 points, including four 3-pointers, while Caedmon Liebengood added 12 points with six rebounds, three assists, and four steals. Edwards flirted with a triple-double as he totaled seven points with a career-high seven assists and eight rebounds. Blaine had six points with five assists.

The YellowJackets connected on only 37.3 percent (25-of-67) from the field, but made 10 3-pointers and went 12-of-15 at the line. LeTourneau also scored 22 points off 20 UT Dallas turnovers.

UT Dallas was led by Nick Donnelly's 12 points and three assists. Austin Page added 11 points with nine rebounds and Balderaz had 10 points. The Comets shot 40.7 percent (24-of-59) from the field and only 28.6 percent (6-of-21) from 3-point land.

UP NEXT

LeTourneau returns to action on Saturday at No. 25 Mary Hardin-Baylor in Belton (3 p.m.).

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