The YellowJackets (3-16, 2-14) built their half-time lead on defense and rebounding. The team forced 15 first-half turnovers and had 11 offensive rebounds that lead to 11 second chance points compared to two offensive rebounds and zero second chance points for the Patriots.
The beginning of the second half seemed to be going LeTourneau’s way until a controversial technical foul was called on LETU’s senior guard Julius McClaskey with 7:36 remaining in the game. The Patriots proceeded to go on a 10-0 run and tied the game at 57 apiece with 5:45 remaining.
The two teams traded buckets for a few minutes until UT-Tyler finally took the lead for good with 2:01 to play on a lay-up by Patrick Branche. Shooting guard Brandon Weasby closed out the game by making eight consecutive free throws over the final 22 seconds to clinch the contest.
Weasby finished with a game-high 30 points, but had his streak of 57 consecutive made free throws snapped when he missed his first attempt of the game with 9:29 remaining in the game. He made 12-of-15 attempts for the game and was 8-of-13 from the floor. Branche tallied a 20-point, 11-rebound double-double while Jamal Vanderbilt and Joe Henderson scored 12 and 11 points, respectively. Point guard Ryan Salters finished the game with six points, seven assists and seven steals.
The Jackets were led by 16 points from freshman point guard Jonathan Collins. Freshman Jay Burnett, in his second start of the season, scored 12 points and grabbed 11 rebounds en route to his first career double-double. Senior Jeremiah Bastian got hot late in the game and finished with 12 points on 4-of-9 three-point shooting.
LeTourneau shot 47.1 percent from the field for the game and made 10-of-27 three-pointers, but it was at the charity stripe where the team was haunted. A 2-for-14 performance proved to be too much to overcome. The team out rebounded the Patriots 39-35 and forced 21 turnovers, but also turned the ball over 21 times themselves. The Patriots shot 53.8 percent from the floor and 21-of-29 shots from the foul line.
The Jackets host UT-Dallas on Saturday afternoon at 3 o’clock in the Solheim Arena. The game can be heard online at www.tsrnsports.com.
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UT-Tyler Patriots vs LeTourneau YellowJackets 02/03/05 7:30 at Longview, TX - Solheim Arena At Longview, TX - Solheim Arena UT-TYLER PATRIOTS 80, LETOURNEAU YELLOWJACKETS 76 UT-TYLER PATRIOTS (9-10, 9-7) Brandon Weasby 8-13 12-15 30; Patrick Branche 9-12 2-3 20; Jamal Vanderbilt 5-11 2-3 12; Joe Henderson 3-5 4-6 11; Ryan Salters 3-9 0-0 6; Brandon Hobbs 0-0 1-2 1; Curtis Clark 0-1 0-0 0; Zach Dekeyser 0-0 0-0 0; Tristan Fuller-Nixon 0-0 0-0 0; Demetrius Blair 0-1 0-0 0; George Gordon 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 28-52 21-29 80. LETOURNEAU YELLOWJACKETS (3-16, 2-14) Jonathan Collins 7-15 0-0 16; Jeremiah Bastian 4-9 0-0 12; Jay Burnett 5-12 0-0 12; Joe Packard 4-4 1-4 9; Julius McClaskey 3-10 1-4 7; Travis Bankett 3-9 0-2 7; Tim Butler 2-4 0-2 4; Marqus Harris 2-3 0-1 4; Joseph Richards 1-1 0-1 3; Brandon Morris 1-1 0-0 2; Joseph Solomon 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 32-68 2-14 76. UT-Tyler Patriots............. 22 58 - 80 LeTourneau YellowJackets...... 36 40 - 76 3-point goals-UT-Tyler Patriots 3-10 (Brandon Weasby 2-5; Joe Henderson 1-2; Jamal Vanderbilt 0-2; Ryan Salters 0-1), LeTourneau YellowJackets 10-27 (Jeremiah Bastian 4-9; Jay Burnett 2-5; Jonathan Collins 2-5; Travis Bankett 1-4; Joseph Richards 1-1; Marqus Harris 0-1; Julius McClaskey 0-2). Fouled out--UT-Tyler Patriots-None, LeTourneau YellowJackets-Jonathan Collins. Rebounds-UT-Tyler Patriots 35 (Patrick Branche 11), LeTourneau YellowJackets 39 (Jay Burnett 11). Assists-UT-Tyler Patriots 13 (Ryan Salters 7), LeTourneau YellowJackets 13 (Joseph Richards 3; Brandon Morris 3). Total fouls-UT-Tyler Patriots 20, LeTourneau YellowJackets 23. A-250