It was a back-and-forth game that saw 11 lead changes, including the final one with 4:48 left in the game when LETU sophomore Joe Packard made two free throws to give the YellowJackets (5-8, 4-7) a 59-58 lead. The key play down the stretch was sophomore Jay Burnett’s driving lay-up with 56 seconds left in the game to give the Jackets a 65-60 lead.
LeTourneau went into halftime with a 33-29 lead, but the Wildcats (4-9, 4-6) out scored the Jackets, 21-9 in the first 8:04 of the second half. LC’s Kase Gonzales scored all 10 of his points in that span and picked up where Meador had left off in the first half. Meador scored 16 points in the first 12 minutes of the game and finished with a game-high 23 points, including five three-pointers. Morey Skluzacek and Tim Van each scored 10 points for the Wildcats and Skluzacek added a game-high five assists.
The Jackets had a balanced attack that had five players scoring between 8-12 points. Burnett led the team with 12 points and grabbed five boards. Senior Travis Bankett continued his hot outside shooting by hitting 2-of-3 trifectas en route to an 11-point game. Freshman center Dusty Evers added 11 points in just 19 minutes before fouling out.
LeTourneau shot 51 percent from the floor for the game, including 7-of-13 from three-point range. The team did struggle from the foul line making just 8-of-15 attempts. The Wildcats were limited to just 40.3 percent from the field and were 8-of-24 from three-point range. LC made 6-of-8 from the foul line. The Jackets won the battle of the boards, 35-32 while the Wildcats committed only 11 turnovers compared to 15 for the YellowJackets.
This was the third consecutive home win over Louisiana College for LeTourneau. The Jackets are back in action at ASC-East rival Austin College on Thursday night at 7:30. The game can be heard online at www.tsrnsports.com
Louisiana College vs LeTourneau University 01/14/06 3:20 at Longview, TX - Solheim Arena At Longview, TX - Solheim Arena LETOURNEAU UNIVERSITY 67, LOUISIANA COLLEGE 64 LOUISIANA COLLEGE (4-9, 4-6) Casey Meador 7-21 4-4 23; Tim Van 5-11 0-0 10; Morey Skluzacek 4-10 1-2 10; Kase Gonzales 4-7 0-0 10; Robert Yangeh 3-5 1-2 7; Cody Wyatt 2-3 0-0 4; Josh Martin 0-1 0-0 0; Daniel Greenhouse 0-0 0-0 0; Josh Johnson 0-1 0-0 0; Dustin Cole 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 25-62 6-8 64. LETOURNEAU UNIVERSITY (5-8, 4-7) Jay Burnett 4-9 4-7 12; Travis Bankett 4-7 1-2 11; Dusty Evers 5-8 0-1 11; Dewones Smith 4-12 0-0 9; Reese Lantrip 3-6 0-0 8; Joe Packard 2-3 2-2 6; Casey Sitton 2-3 0-0 5; Marcus Coleman 1-2 1-2 3; Jacob Butler 1-1 0-1 2. Totals 26-51 8-15 67. Louisiana College............. 29 35 - 64 LeTourneau University......... 33 34 - 67 3-point goals-Louisiana College 8-24 (Casey Meador 5-13; Kase Gonzales 2-4; Morey Skluzacek 1-5; Dustin Cole 0-1; Robert Yangeh 0-1), LeTourneau University 7-13 (Reese Lantrip 2-3; Travis Bankett 2-3; Casey Sitton 1-1; Dewones Smith 1-3; Dusty Evers 1-1; Jay Burnett 0-2). Fouled out--Louisiana College-Cody Wyatt, LeTourneau University-Dusty Evers. Rebounds-Louisiana College 32 (Kase Gonzales 6), LeTourneau University 35 (Joe Packard 7). Assists-Louisiana College 15 (Morey Skluzacek 5), LeTourneau University 15 (Dewones Smith 3; Jay Burnett 3). Total fouls-Louisiana College 15, LeTourneau University 17. A-400