The YellowJackets (3-8, 2-6) started the game with a turnover on their first possession which proved to be a harbinger for things to come the rest of the half. The team committed 18 turnovers in the first 20 minutes of action and were down by as many as 13 points, but a Danny McGraner three-pointer with six seconds left in the half cut the lead to seven heading into halftime.
The second half turned out to be the Jonathan Collins show for the ‘Jackets. “I was a little tough on him at halftime for his first half play, but he did a great job responding in the second half,” said LETU head coach Bernie Balikian. “He is going to be a great player here.”
Collins scored 17 of his career-high 21 points in the second half and continually split the Tornado (2-9, 2-6) full court pressure defense. He made the two clinching free throws with 16 seconds left in regulation. Two other players who played great in the second half were senior shooting guard Jeremiah Bastian and junior forward Travis Bankett. Bastian connected on 4-of-5 shots and scored 11 points while handling the ball well. Bankett added seven points, five rebounds and five assists in the second half. Bastian finished the game with 13 points while Bankett contributed nine points.
Tim Butler had his best game in a YellowJacket uniform. He scored 20 points on 10-of-13 shooting and pulled down eight rebounds. McGraner helped out on the boards with eight rebounds while chipping in 11 points, four assists and two blocks. Freshman Ashton Torbert added nine points in just seven minutes of play and senior Julius McClaskey had a game-high eight assists.
Valentino Maxwell led the Tornados with 21 points and five steals off the bench. The guard tandem of Keith Darden and Brandon Graves combined for 37 points, nine rebounds, 11 steals and nine assists. The Concordia defense forced LeTourneau into 31 turnovers. CUA shot 48.1 percent from the floor, but were a paltry 1-for-14 from three-point range.
The YellowJackets shot 54.5 percent from the floor and out rebounded the Tornados 43-34 and had a season-high 25 assists.
The ‘Jackets do not play again until Thursday night at Louisiana College beginning at 7:30. The game can be heard online at www.tsrnsports.com.
Concordia-Austin vs LeTourneau YellowJackets 01/08/05 3:00 at Longview, TX - Solheim Arena At Longview, TX - Solheim Arena LETOURNEAU YELLOWJACKETS 93, CONCORDIA-AUSTIN 88 CONCORDIA-AUSTIN (2-9, 2-6) Valentino Maxwell 9-20 3-3 21; Keith Darden 8-18 3-3 19; Brandon Graves 7-12 3-3 18; George Freeman 5-12 1-1 11; Tito Alonso 3-4 3-5 9; Mike Moore 3-5 0-0 6; Greg Fabry 2-5 0-1 4; Geoff Harner 0-0 0-0 0; Jack Montagna 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 37-77 13-16 88. LETOURNEAU YELLOWJACKETS (3-8, 2-6) Jonathan Collins 8-11 4-5 21; Tim Butler 10-13 0-3 20; Jeremiah Bastian 5-7 0-0 13; Daniel McGraner 4-8 1-2 11; Travis Bankett 3-8 1-2 9; Ashton Torbert 3-3 3-3 9; Julius McClaskey 2-11 1-1 5; Brandon Morris 1-2 2-2 4; Joseph Richards 0-2 1-2 1; Joseph Solomon 0-1 0-0 0; Ryan Curtis 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 36-66 13-20 93. Concordia-Austin.............. 46 42 - 88 LeTourneau YellowJackets...... 39 54 - 93 3-point goals-Concordia-Austin 1-14 (Brandon Graves 1-4; Keith Darden 0-3; George Freeman 0-1; Mike Moore 0-1; Greg Fabry 0-2; Valentino Maxwell 0-3), LeTourneau YellowJackets 8-25 (Jeremiah Bastian 3-5; Daniel McGraner 2-4; Travis Bankett 2-5; Jonathan Collins 1-2; Brandon Morris 0-1; Joseph Richards 0-2; Julius McClaskey 0-6). Fouled out--Concordia-Austin-Greg Fabry, LeTourneau YellowJackets-None. Rebounds-Concordia-Austin 34 (George Freeman 7), LeTourneau YellowJackets 43 (Travis Bankett 9). Assists-Concordia-Austin 15 (Keith Darden 7), LeTourneau YellowJackets 25 (Julius McClaskey 8). Total fouls-Concordia-Austin 17, LeTourneau YellowJackets 16. A-250