The YellowJackets (7-11, 6-10) trailed 12-2 nine minutes into the first half, but were able to close to within two points by halftime. Senior Travis Bankett finally got the offense going for LeTourneau with 10 first half points.
The Patriots (6-11, 6-8) played an up and down first half. They connected on 62 percent of their shots from the floor, but committed 13 turnovers. The were able to hold LeTourneau to just 31.3 percent shooting in the first half thanks in large part to Mike Smith’s four blocked shots.
In the second half, the Patriots held onto the lead until the Jackets took the lead for good on junior Marcus Coleman’s lay-up with 8:40 remaining in regulation. From that point on, LeTourneau outscored UT-Tyler 25-12 to end the game. Smith took the game over for the Jackets with 21 second half points and the team executed very well down the stretch to get the win.
The Jackets shot 60 percent from the floor in the second half and made 7-of-14 three-pointers, overall. Two key stats in the game were foul shooting and rebounding. LeTourneau won out on both counts. LETU made 14-of-16 free throws and pulled down seven more rebounds than UT-Tyler, who went 5-of-9 from the foul line.
Smith led all scorers with 28 points, but also grabbed a game-high eight rebounds. Bankett finished with 12 points and three assists while sophomore Joe Packard added 10 points.
Brandon Weasby and Joe Henderson each scored 17 points for the Patriots and Ryan Salters chipped in with 10 points.
The Jackets are on the road at UT-Dallas on Thursday night in ASC-East action. The game can be heard online at www.tsrnsports.com.
Newspaper Box Score Texas-Tyler vs LeTourneau University 01/28/06 3:00 at Longview, TX - Solheim Arena At Longview, TX - Solheim Arena LETOURNEAU UNIVERSITY 71, TEXAS-TYLER 58 TEXAS-TYLER (6-11, 6-8) Brandon Weasby 7-19 1-1 17; Joe Henderson 6-11 4-6 17; Ryan Salters 5-10 0-0 10; Patrick Branche 3-5 0-0 6; Brandon Hobbs 2-4 0-0 4; Jamal Vanderbilt 2-3 0-2 4; Matt Riccardi 0-0 0-0 0; Mirada Reed 0-2 0-0 0; Mike Smith 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 25-55 5-9 58. LETOURNEAU UNIVERSITY (7-11, 6-10) Dewones Smith 10-16 5-6 28; Travis Bankett 5-11 0-0 12; Joe Packard 3-5 4-5 10; Reese Lantrip 3-5 1-1 9; Dusty Evers 3-8 2-2 8; Marcus Coleman 1-2 2-2 4; Jacob Butler 0-2 0-0 0; Jay Burnett 0-4 0-0 0; Casey Sitton 0-4 0-0 0. Totals 25-57 14-16 71. Texas-Tyler................... 28 30 - 58 LeTourneau University......... 26 45 - 71 3-point goals-Texas-Tyler 3-16 (Brandon Weasby 2-9; Joe Henderson 1-4; Patrick Branche 0-1; Mirada Reed 0-2), LeTourneau University 7-14 (Dewones Smith 3-4; Travis Bankett 2-4; Reese Lantrip 2-3; Jay Burnett 0-3). Fouled out--Texas-Tyler-None, LeTourneau University-None. Rebounds-Texas-Tyler 26 (Brandon Hobbs 6), LeTourneau University 33 (Dewones Smith 8). Assists-Texas-Tyler 8 (Brandon Weasby 3; Joe Henderson 3), LeTourneau University 11 (Dewones Smith 3; Travis Bankett 3). Total fouls-Texas-Tyler 17, LeTourneau University 14. A-400 Dewones Smith scores career high 28 points for LeTourneau