LONGVIEW, Texas -- LeTourneau men's hoops overcame their second double-digit deficit in as many games to defeat Belhaven, 109-86, at Solheim Arena on Saturday afternoon.

Jackson Mayes led the scoring charge once again, tying his career-high with 31 points on 13-of-23 shooting. Cooper Smith set a new career-best with 21 on 9-of-10 from the field, while Teigan Edwards had a brilliant all-around game, scoring 14 points, dishing out eight assists, and swiping the basketball a career record-shattering seven times.

For the first 14:04 of the first half, Belhaven was in control, as their aggressive press and hot shooting got them out to a big lead early, getting as high as 15 points in the late stages of the first half.

Then a switch flipped. 

At the 5:56 mark, the YellowJackets started a 9-0 run, closing the 15-point deficit to six with 3:10 to go in the half. Belhaven asked for a timeout to try and stop the momentum.

It didn't work.

LeTourneau kept pouring it on, going on an 11-2 run to close out the half up three, 46-43.

They didn't let up.

By the time the first media timeout was called with 15:43 to go, the YellowJackets were suddenly up by 17 points. Mayes scored nine of the 21 points in that stretch, and Edwards, who had been quiet for majority of the first half, kept making play after play, hounding the Blazers and forcing turnovers, leading to fantastic outlet passes for assists.

In total, the YellowJackets ripped off an astounding 41-9 run between that 5:56 mark of the first half and the 15:43 mark of the second half, which was more than enough to squeeze the life out of the upstart Blazers (2-1), as the YellowJackets (2-0) used some pesky defense and ball movement to gain the advantage.

The rest of the second half was business as usual, with Smith's three at the 3:47 mark giving him his new career-best, while freshmen Jayden Prioleau and Max Frels recorded their first collegiate baskets late in the game. Tyler Henry and Patrick Penosky also made their collegiate debuts in this one. 

The Blazers were led by Neal Terry, who scored 17 and grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds. DJ Jones and Braylon Dame added 15 each, while Benjamin Stewart had 14.

UP NEXT

The team travels to Lookout Mountain, Ga. to take part in the 84 Lumber Classic at Covenant College next Friday, beginning with a matchup against Oglethorpe at 4:00 PM.

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