LONGVIEW, Texas -- LeTourneau men's basketball overcame a 13-point first half deficit to upend old ASC rival UMHB, 92-85, in front of a raucous home crowd in Solheim Arena.

Jackson Mayes dropped a game-high 24 points, while David Martinez (16) and Teigan Edwards (15) added double figure scoring also. Mayes, Martinez and Logan Brinkoeter led the boards with eight each, and Edwards dished out six assists.

The offense started out slowly for the YellowJackets (1-0), as they fell behind to the upstart Cru (0-2), who shot 52.3 percent from distance to open up an 11-point lead at the half.

A quick 5-0 run to open the second half jumpstarted the LeTourneau offense, but UMHB would counter with a 6-0 run to extend their lead back to 12. 

Then the Jackets started chipping away.

A Branson Lynn triple with 13:14 to go cut the deficit back to six, and then Mayes, suspended in midair, secured and put back an offensive rebound while drawing a foul, converting the and-1 to make it a five-point game.

Later, a pair of buckets from Martinez and one from Brinkoeter later in the half would help trim it down to three, and Edwards added a layup with 7:40 to go to get it down to one.

After a corner triple from UMHB's Zach Engels made it a four-point game again, it appeared that the Cru might have just enough to hang on.

However, Mayes answered right back, draining his third shot from distance to make it 74-73, and a subsequent stellar defensive sequence led to Edwards' go-ahead fastbreak layup, the first lead for the YellowJackets since the 17:54 mark of the first half.

They didn't stop there.

A key 9-4 burst, headed up by Connor Miller's go-ahead 3-pointer, gave LeTourneau a lead they would not relinquish, as Mayes, Edwards, and Martinez put the finishing touches on the win with some more clutch hoops.

Hudson Johnson led the Cru with 21 points, while Engels added 19 on 8-of-11 shooting.

UP NEXT

The YellowJackets take on Belhaven on Saturday at 3 p.m. in Solheim Arena.

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