LeTourneau Pulls Away Late to Top 'Roos

SHERMAN, Texas - The Austin College men's basketball team battled LeTourneau throughout the game on Monday afternoon in Hughey Gym, but the Yellow Jackets used some timely three point shooting to pull away late and hand the 'Roos an 89-76 defeat. The 'Roos are now 3-4 overall on the year.

LeTourneau broke open what had been a tightly contested game with four big three pointers down the stretch, extending what had been a 58-57 lead with 9:20 to play into an 86-73 game eight minutes later. Austin College also committed five turnovers over that stretch, which helped the Jackets put the game away.

The 'Roos jumped out to a 6-0 lead and stayed on top for the first nine minutes of the game before LeTourneau evened things up at 19 apiece at the 10:37 mark, and the Jackets took their first lead of the game on a pair of free throws by Justin Moore to make it 23-21 with 8:36 left before the break. The LeTourneau lead grew to 34-25 four minutes later before Austin College rallied back, with a last second tip-in by Kam Hogan putting the 'Roos ahead 41-40 at halftime.

Austin College regained the lead to open the second half, but LeTourneau raced ahead 52-45 with 16:06 left to play. The 'Roos responded with a 7-0 run to square things up, and Devin Roland's bucket kept things tight at 58-57 before the Jackets took control the rest of the way.

Michael Holland led all scorers with 22 points, adding six assists, five rebounds, and two steals and Justice Mercadel added 14 points and five boards. The 'Roos shot 46.2% from the field and made 12-of-14 free throws, but committed 21 turnovers and gave up 18 offensive boards to the Jackets.

Nate West paced LeTourneau with 19 points, 10 assists, six rebounds, and four steals. The Jackets out-scored Austin College 25-to-16 in points off of turnovers, as well as 17-to-11 in second chance points while knocking down nine threes, compared to just four triples for the 'Roos.

Austin College opens up Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference play on Friday afternoon when they host Centenary College with tip-time set for 2:00 p.m.