MARSHALL, Texas -- The No. 2-seeded LeTourneau men's basketball team had a double-digit first-half lead, but No. 3 seed Mary Hardin-Baylor rallied and held off the YellowJackets, 97-89, in an ASC Tournament semifinal on Friday afternoon inside Ornelas Gym.

LeTourneau ends the year 18-8 overall. It is the eighth winning season in the last nine seasons for the YellowJackets.

Mary Hardin-Baylor (15-10) advances to the championship game on Saturday at 2 p.m.

In his final game as a YellowJacket, Deonte Jackson led the way with 26 points, seven rebounds, and five assists. Jackson finishes his career with 2,290 points -- third all-time in program history.

LeTourneau looked good early in the game. 

LeTourneau hit five of its first seven 3-pointers to build a 26-15 lead after a Jackson 3-pointer following a Logan Brinkoeter steal with 11:49 remaining in the first half. The 11-point margin was the largest lead of the half for LeTourneau.  

Jackson had 13 points in the first half.  

Mary Hardin-Baylor answered over the final 10 minutes of the opening half and grabbed a 51-46 lead at the break. The Cru shot 65.6 percent (21-of-32) from the field and Eli Beard tallied 19 points in the opening half.

LeTourneau trailed nearly the entire second half. Mary Hardin-Baylor took its largest lead of the game at 80-70 with 6:53 remaining. 

The YellowJackets answered with a 7-0 run, capped by a Jackson Mayes 3-pointer, to get within 80-77 with 4:45 left. A Caedmon Liebengood layup followed by a 3-pointer got the YellowJackets within 86-85 with 2:38 left.

Eli Beard had all the answers for Mary Hardin-Baylor. Beard scored a tournament record 44 points and hit a 3-pointer after Liebengood's triple to extend the Cru's lead back to four with 2:22 left. Free throws down the stretch sealed the win for the Cru.

Mayes had a double-double of 20 points and 10 rebounds to go with five assists. 

In their final games as YellowJackets, Liebengood and Walker Blaine both scored in double-digits. Liebengood finished with 13 points and eight rebounds, while Blaine had 11 points and four assists.

LeTourneau shot 42.7 percent (35-of-82) from the field and held a 45-37 rebounding edge. The YellowJackets hit 14 3-pointers, the 12th time this season they have made 10-plus triples in a game.

Beard led all scorers with 44 points, including 25 in the second half. The Cru made 56.1 percent (37-of-66) from the field with 11 3-pointers.

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