The YellowJackets (4-19, 3-17) gave the Choctaws (19-3, 17-3) everything they could handle, but the depth and strength of MC prevailed in the end. The game proved to be a comparison of two contrasting styles of play. The Jackets tried to press and harass the Choctaws all over the court while MC tried to use their size advantage to score easy buckets. The stat sheet shows that both were successful in their execution with the Choctaws holding a distinct 47-25 rebounding edge over LETU while the Jackets forced MC into 17 turnovers while committing only 10 themselves.
The Choctaws took a four-point lead into halftime, 32-28 and continually forced LeTourneau to play catch-up in the first half. The second half began much like the first half with the teams going back-and-forth at each other. The Jackets finally tied the game at 50-50 with 10:19 remaining in the game when the Jacket press forced a turnover and freshman guard Jay Burnett picked up a steal and scored on a lay-up.
Mississippi College head coach Don Loftus quickly called a time out and calmed his team down. The Choctaws were able to slowing build up a lead over the next few minutes and Jason Walker calmly made 9-of-10 free throws over the final 5:47 of play to prevent the Jackets from exercising any thoughts of an upset over the ASC East Division’s top team.
Junior forward Travis Bankett led the Jackets with 17 points on 7-of-14 shooting. Freshman forward Tim Butler added 13 points while freshman point guard Jonathan Collins had 10 points. Senior Julius McClaskey and Burnett each added nine points for Bernie Balikian’s squad.
The Choctaws were led by forward Lonnie Vasquez’s 21 points and 12 rebounds. Marcus Evans was the only other player in double figures with 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting. Patrick Veal was solid inside with nine points and eight boards while Willie Powers added eight points and nine rebounds.
MC shot 50 percent from the floor and made 19-of-23 free throws. The Jackets were held to 40.6 percent shooting and were only 5-of-23 from three-point range.
LeTourneau has only two remaining games on the road this season. They travel to University of the Ozarks on Thursday night and Austin College on Saturday afternoon. The games can be heard online at www.tsrnsports.com.
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Mississippi College vs LeTourneau YellowJackets 02/12/05 3:30 at Longview, TX - Solheim Arena At Longview, TX - Solheim Arena MISSISSIPPI COLLEGE 77, LETOURNEAU YELLOWJACKETS 64 MISSISSIPPI COLLEGE (19-3, 17-3) Lonnie Vasquez 9-12 1-1 21; Marcus Evans 5-6 0-1 10; Jason Walker 0-5 9-10 9; Patrick Veal 4-6 1-2 9; Willie Powers 3-8 2-2 8; Jaszmine Eugene 3-8 0-0 6; Shederick Kirk 1-4 3-4 5; Jimmy Johns 2-3 1-1 5; David Doty 1-1 0-0 2; Cedric Armstrong 0-2 2-2 2; Orlando Lewis 0-1 0-0 0; Kevin Byrne 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 28-56 19-23 77. LETOURNEAU YELLOWJACKETS (4-19, 3-17) Travis Bankett 7-14 0-1 17; Tim Butler 4-9 5-5 13; Jonathan Collins 5-10 0-1 10; Jay Burnett 4-7 0-1 9; Julius McClaskey 3-8 2-2 9; Joe Packard 2-4 0-0 4; Brandon Morris 1-3 0-0 2; Zack Rodriguez 0-1 0-0 0; James Williams 0-0 0-0 0; Ryan Curtis 0-0 0-0 0; Marqus Harris 0-0 0-0 0; Joseph Solomon 0-0 0-0 0; Jacob Butler 0-0 0-0 0; Jeremiah Bastian 0-3 0-0 0; Joseph Richards 0-5 0-0 0. Totals 26-64 7-10 64. Mississippi College........... 32 45 - 77 LeTourneau YellowJackets...... 28 36 - 64 3-point goals-Mississippi College 2-9 (Lonnie Vasquez 2-3; Jason Walker 0-2; Shederick Kirk 0-1; Cedric Armstrong 0-2; Orlando Lewis 0-1), LeTourneau YellowJackets 5-23 (Travis Bankett 3-6; Julius McClaskey 1-3; Jay Burnett 1-3; Brandon Morris 0-2; Jeremiah Bastian 0-3; Joseph Richards 0-4; Jonathan Collins 0-2). Fouled out--Mississippi College-None, LeTourneau YellowJackets-None. Rebounds-Mississippi College 47 (Lonnie Vasquez 12), LeTourneau YellowJackets 25 (Jay Burnett 5). Assists-Mississippi College 12 (Jimmy Johns 4; Jason Walker 4), LeTourneau YellowJackets 12 (Julius McClaskey 4). Total fouls-Mississippi College 11, LeTourneau YellowJackets 20. A-875