The YellowJackets (5-19, 4-17) opened up a 10-point lead in the first half, 27-17, but hot shooting from the Eagles’ (11-13, 9-12) Josh Joyner closed the gap quickly. Joyner began the game hitting nine of his first 10 shots and combined with 13 first half YellowJacket turnovers, gave Ozarks a 39-34 lead heading in halftime.
When the Eagles opened the second half with five quick points, it appeared that the Jackets were in trouble. A time out called within the first two minutes of the second half by LETU head coach Bernie Balikian was the start of what turned out to be a great second half from the Jackets.
The Jackets responded to the timeout with a quick 7-0 run to cut the lead to three points and for the rest of the game it was a dogfight between the two teams. The momentum of the game gradually shifted to LeTourneau as the second half wore on.
Eventually, LeTourneau’s great second half shooting took the game over. Junior Travis Bankett made 4-of-7 three-pointers en route to 21 points. In a key exchange during the game, Bankett hit a three to put the Jackets up by two points, then David Hamilton responded for Ozarks with a three-pointer and then freshman Jay Burnett drilled a trifecta for the Jackets the next time down the court.
The Jackets shot 70.8 percent from the floor in the second half, including a scintillating 7-of-10 from three-point range. In addition to Bankett and Burnett, junior Joseph Richards hit 2-of-3 triples in the second half and freshman Jonathan Collins drilled his only attempt of the game.
Collins finished with 17 points and a career high seven assists for the Jackets while Burnett and senior Julius McClaskey each added 11 points. Freshman forward Marqus Harris played 14 minutes, scored 13 points and grabbed five rebounds in a starring role off the bench.
Ozarks shot 44.2 percent from the floor for the game, but were just 6-of-22 from three-point range. Leading scorer Brent Johnson was held to just six points on 2-of-16 shooting. Joyner led the team with 25 points and seven boards. Hamilton came off the bench to added 12 points and eight rebounds while Habeeb Kareem added 11 points.
LeTourneau held a 40 to 32 advantage on the boards and made 23-of-30 free throws, outscoring the Eagles 23 to nine at the foul line. Freshman Brandon Morris (Houston/North Shore HS) made four crucial free throws on 1-and-1’s late in the game for LeTourneau.
The Jackets travel to Sherman, TX to take on Austin College Saturday afternoon at 3 o’clock for their final game of the season. The game can be heard online at www.tsrnsports.com.
LeTourneau University vs University of the Ozarks 2-19-05 8:30 pm at Clarksville, AR At Clarksville, AR LETOURNEAU UNIVERSITY 94, UNIVERSITY OF THE OZARKS 83 LETOURNEAU UNIVERSITY (5-20, 4-17) Travis Bankett 6-10 5-6 21; Jonathan Collins 6-7 4-5 17; Marqus Harris 6-8 1-1 13; Jay Burnett 4-6 2-2 11; Julius McClaskey 5-14 0-2 11; Joseph Richards 2-4 0-0 6; Brandon Morris 0-0 5-6 5; Joe Packard 1-1 2-2 4; Tim Butler 1-2 2-4 4; Jeremiah Bastian 0-0 2-2 2; Joseph Solomon 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 31-52 23-30 94. UNIVERSITY OF THE OZARKS (11-13, 9-12) Josh Joyner 11-16 1-3 25; David Hamilton 5-11 0-0 12; Habeeb Kareem 5-10 1-3 11; Chris Clark 4-7 0-0 9; Jacob Sibley 3-7 0-1 7; Brent Johnson 2-16 2-4 6; Brad Johnson 2-3 2-3 6; Andy Brakebill 2-4 0-0 4; Chris Knowles 0-1 2-2 2; Scott McCall 0-1 1-2 1; Ian Garrett 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 34-77 9-18 83. LeTourneau University......... 34 60 - 94 University of the Ozarks...... 39 44 - 83 3-point goals-LeTourneau University 9-20 (Travis Bankett 4-7; Joseph Richards 2-4; Julius McClaskey 1-5; Jay Burnett 1-3; Jonathan Collins 1-1), University of the Ozarks 6-22 (David Hamilton 2-3; Josh Joyner 2-3; Chris Clark 1-2; Jacob Sibley 1-3; Andy Brakebill 0-1; Scott McCall 0-1; Brad Johnson 0-1; Brent Johnson 0-8). Fouled out--LeTourneau University-Tim Butler, University of the Ozarks-None. Rebounds-LeTourneau University 40 (Travis Bankett 6), University of the Ozarks 32 (David Hamilton 8). Assists-LeTourneau University 17 (Jonathan Collins 7), University of the Ozarks 20 (Brad Johnson 9). Total fouls-LeTourneau University 18, University of the Ozarks 22. A-650