EastTexasRadio.com Powered by Ten Stations
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
KERRVILLE, Texas – Fighting back from a 10-point halftime deficit, the LeTourneau University women’s basketball team saw senior Ashley Reed send the game to overtime with a three with eight seconds left in regulation before hanging on for a 70-67 overtime win at Schreiner University in Kerrville, Texas on Saturday, December 30.
LETU’s victory gives the YellowJackets a 3-8 overall record heading into the 2018 side of the 2017-18 campaign while the Mountaineers are now 2-9.
Points were hard to come by for both teams in the opening minutes of the game with Schreiner jumping out to a 4-0 lead before Reed would hit her first three of the game to pull LETU within one at 4-3 at the 7:23 mark in the first quarter. LeTourneau would hang around with a Mountaineer squad looking to break the game open by pushing their lead out to seven at 13-6, but a 5-0 run to end the quarter by LETU drew the YellowJackets back within two at 13-11 to end the first period.
Looking to get over the hump and take their first lead of the game, LETU would find more offensive struggles throughout the second quarter. Schreiner extended their lead back out to a seven-point margin at 22-15 with 6:29 left in the first half before adding a Sydney Williams jumper in the paint to go up nine. The Mountaineer lead would then grow to as many as a game-high 13 points with 2:16 left in half on an Abigail Hewitt triple before Taylor Abbe answered with a three of her own as LETU would trail 34-24 at the break. LeTourneau would manage to shoot just eight of 31 (25.8 percent) from the field while seeing Schreiner shoot 46.2 percent (12-26) in the first half.
Small gains were seen for the YellowJackets throughout the third quarter with each team scoring four straight points to open the second half before Savannah Cummings would hit four free throws to pull LETU within six at 42-36. LeTourneau ended up scoring 13 of their 21 points in the third from the charity stripe while cutting the Schreiner halftime lead in half at 50-45.
LeTourneau managed to pull within one at 50-49 just 54 seconds into the fourth quarter following an Abbe jumper followed by a fastbreak layup by Keauna Whitfield with the YellowJackets looking to use momentum in their favor. Every time LETU would manage to get within a single possession, Schreiner would find a way to push the lead back out to five points with the score sitting at 59-54 heading into the final five minutes of regulation. A Cummings jumper with 2:16 left in the fourth brought LeTourneau back within one at 62-61 before a two-minute scoring drought for both squads would be endured.
Jordyn Villa gave the Mountaineers a three-point lead with 14 seconds left when LETU would decide not to use a timeout, but instead push the ball up the court to a wide-open Reed who knocked down the game-tying triple. Schreiner would get an opportunity at a game-winning three that would fall short, sending the game into overtime.
The extra session proved to be troublesome for both squads as the first 3:07 of overtime would pass before Cummings finally opened the scoring in the extra frame with a jumper in the paint and foul to give LETU their first lead of the game at 67-64. Schreiner then hit one free throw and held the YellowJackets scoreless on their next trip down the floor before getting a pair of free throws from Danielle Cain to once again tie the game. Following a timeout by LETU, Reed found an open opportunity and drove to the hole while putting up a 12-foot runner that fell with 34 seconds left to allow LeTourneau to reclaim a 69-67 lead. The Mountaineers looked to take the lead with a three but would come up empty as Sha’Donnaver Young would collect the rebound and hit one of two free throws to make the score 70-67. Villa would put up one last-ditch game-tying three that would come up short as the YellowJackets managed to escape with their third road victory of the year.
“Tonight was a great win against a very scrappy, hard-working Schreiner squad,” said head coach Cassi Rozanski in a post-game interview. “I’m proud of how we fought back and didn’t lose our focus.” “Taylor Abbe stepped up big for us tonight by finishing with 14 points and 16 rebounds.” “Ashley Reed was face-guarded all night, but stepped up like a senior should with a huge three and drive in the lane to put us ahead at the end of the game.” “It was a true team effort, and I could not be more proud of them.”
A 31-7 advantage in second-chance points allowed for LETU to overcome 17-10 points off turnovers deficit as the YellowJackets held a commanding 68-41 lead on the glass. LETU assisted on 10 of 22 made buckets compared to 12 of 25 for Schreiner while also getting 26 points in the paint.
Three LeTourneau players recorded double-doubles on the night, with Whitfield (16 points, 12 rebounds), Cummings (13 points, 11 rebounds) and Abbe (14 points, 16 rebounds) all getting into double-figures in the points and rebounds column. Reed scored 15 points and hauled in five boards on the night while Leaven added five points. Villa was a one-person wrecking crew for the Mountaineers, finishing with 36 points on 15-22 shooting.
After rounding out 2017 with a victory, LETU will next be in action on Thursday, January 4th when the YellowJackets take on McMurry University at 5:30 p.m. in Abilene, Texas.
KERRVILLE, Texas – After overcoming a 13 point halftime deficit to tie the game with 5:39 left in the game, the LeTourneau University women’s basketball team fell short of completing a comeback. It was in a 66-61 neutral court loss to Texas Lutheran University at the SCAC/ASC Crossover Tournament in Kerrville, Texas on Friday, December 29.
LETU is now 2-8 on the year following their third single-digit loss of the year while the Bulldogs improved to 4-6 overall.
A total of five lead changes happened in the opening 10 minutes of action with both teams coming out of the gates early on and trying to stick to their style of play. Senior Savannah Cummings would manage to get the YellowJackets off to a quick start by scoring five straight points to tie the game at 8-8 with 6:51 remaining in the first quarter before adding another three consecutive points to give LETU an 11-10 lead. LeTourneau would then manage to hold onto the lead up until the final seconds of the opening period when Stacey Radtke would hit a jumper to give Texas Lutheran a 15-13 lead.
Second quarter woes ended up putting LETU in a double-digit deficit as Ashley Reed would score on a layup before going through a 3:17 scoreless drought that saw TLU open up a 22-15 lead. Three-point shooting extended the Bulldog lead to 10 at 27-17 with 5:57 remaining in the first half with the edge getting pushed to as high as 15 points. Keauna Whitfield would give LETU a spark at the end of the half by getting a steal and layup to pull LeTourneau back to 39-26.
LETU opened up the second half in a much different fashion than the way the second quarter started, scoring the first eight points of the half to pull within five at 39-34 on a Sha’Donnaver Young jumper before TLU hit one of their eight three’s in the game to push the lead back to eight. Reed and Cummings would take over once again after seeing the YellowJackets fall behind by 10, scoring eight of LeTourneau’s next 10 points to get LETU within three at 48-45 before heading into the fourth trailing by a score of 50-48.
LETU would manage to stay in a single possession throughout the opening minutes of the fourth quarter before Reed hit her fifth trey of the game to give LeTourneau their first lead of the second half at 53-52. Cummings would then add a layup to put the edge at three before TLU used their potent three-point attack to tie the game at 55-55 heading into the final five minutes of the game.
Free throws became crucial down the stretch, with nine of the final 16 points of the game coming from the charity stripe as TLU would see Cami Davis hit three consecutive free throws to break a 59-59 deadlock. Following an offensive rebound and layup by Young to pull LETU within one at 62-61, Texas Lutheran would respond with a layup to take a three-point lead with 12 seconds remaining. LeTourneau would get one final shot at a game-tying three that would bounce off the front of the rim and into the hands of TLU’s Abby Hroch who would ice the game with a pair of free throws.
“We didn’t shoot the ball well in the first half going 10-42 from the field,” said head coach Cassi Rozanskiin a post-game interview. “I was proud of the fight in the second half to come back and give ourselves a chance.” “There were a couple plays down the stretch where a few calls didn’t go our way that hurt us and we weren’t able to bounce back from, but I am proud of the fight our girls had today.”
LETU saw opportunities with a total of 17 second-chance points in the game, but the YellowJackets would finish just 21-75 (28 percent) from the field and hit only five of 18 (27.8 percent) of their shots from beyond the arc. Texas Lutheran knocked in 22 of 52 (42.3 percent) of their shots from the field and scored 22 points in the paint to overcome a 52-37 rebounding deficit.
Reed led all players in the game with 17 points and added three rebounds while Cummings tacked on 16 points and had 11 rebounds to record a double-double. Whitfield joined Cummings with a double-double of her own after scoring 11 points and hauling in 10 boards while Young hauled in 11 rebounds as well. Davis led Texas Lutheran by 13 points.
LETU will get a chance to rebound tomorrow evening when they take on host school Schreiner University at 6 p.m. in their second game of the SCAC/ASC Crossover Tournament.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
KERRVILLE, Texas – A season-high 25 points for junior Caleb Loggins paced the LeTourneau University men’s basketball team to a 90-82 road win at Schreiner University in Kerrville, Texas on Saturday, December 30.
With the victory, LETU has now won three straight games to improve to 9-2 overall with a 6-1 non-conference mark while the host Mountaineers slipped to 3-8 overall.
Blake Kelley for Schreiner and Loggins for LeTourneau would set the tone early for both teams with Kelley scoring the first 13 points of the game for the Mountaineers and Loggins scoring 12 of his own in the opening 12 minutes. Following an 11-10 YellowJacket lead with 15:30 left in the first half, Schreiner would score seven of the next nine points to jump out to a 17-13 lead which would be held up to the 12:12 mark.
An Alec Colhoff triple with 10:36 left in the first half allowed for LETU to reclaim a 23-21 lead as part of the 7-0 run to give the YellowJackets some breathing room heading into the final nine minutes of the first half. Schreiner responded by cutting the lead back down to one at 31-30 with five minutes left in the opening period but would be held to just a single point the rest of the way while allowing 12 points to LETU which included four points in the final minute by sophomore Nate West.
LeTourneau’s double-digit lead would be maintained momentarily to open the second half as Schreiner would keep the pressure on the YellowJackets by cutting the edge to five at 48-43 with 16 minutes left in the game. LETU would respond with a quick pair of buckets and free throw to get the lead back to 10, but the Mountaineers refused to let LETU find a comfortable margin. An Andrew Sparks three with 13:25 left in the second half pulled SU to just a four-point deficit at 56-52 before the YellowJackets saw Loggins and Justin Moore take over and score 11 of the next 13 points of the game while helping LeTourneau to a 13-2 run and open a 15-point lead at 69-54.
A transition layup by Chrisitan Seidl at the 4:51 mark gave the YellowJackets their largest lead of the game at 80-63 as LETU would look to run away with the easy victory until Schreiner would go on a 7-0 run over the next 1:26 to cut the lead back to 10. Three-point shooting for the Mountaineers cut the LeTourneau lead down to single digits with 1:44 left in the game followed by a pair of Keenan Gumbs free throws which put the score at 86-80 in favor of LETU. Three consecutive free throws by west along with a Moore free throw gave the YellowJackets enough breathing room in the final seconds as Schreiner could only muster a tip-in with 13 seconds left to hang on for the eight-point victory.
“Today was a great team win at Schreiner, and anytime you get a true road win in college basketball you feel pleased,” said head coach Dan Miller in a post-game interview. “The final score may not have reflected it, but we did some good things defensively throughout.” “We still have a lot to improve on both offensively and defensively, but this team knows how to win and believes in each other.” “We will enjoy this tonight but be ready to get back to practice on Monday and keep getting better.”
Fast break points and points in the paint played a vital role in the YellowJacket win with LETU outscoring Schreiner 10-0 in fast break points and holding a 34-26 advantage in points in the paint. LeTourneau managed to finish 33 of 60 (55 percent) from the field and hit nine of 22 three-point attempts (40.9 percent) as the rebounding battle ended in a 38-38 deadlock.
Seidl’s seven points off the bench would be the only bench points of the day for the YellowJackets as all five starters carried the load once again for LETU. Loggins added 12 rebounds to go with his season-high point output while West added 21 points, four rebounds, and four assists. Colhoff hit three triples to score 16 points with Moore (11 points) and Caylab Herrera (10 points) also scoring for LETU. Gumbs managed to lead all scorers in the game with 30 points for the Mountaineers.
American Southwest Conference action resumes next Thursday night in Abilene, Texas with LETU taking on McMurry University at 7:30 p.m. The Warhawks currently sit second in the ASC West at 3-2 in the conference and 4-6 overall with a home game against Southwestern University on Saturday evening.
KERRVILLE, Texas – Facing a 24 point deficit with just 16:31 remaining in the game, the LeTourneau University men’s basketball team would finally find a way to shake off the long holiday break. They rallied by outscoring Texas Lutheran 54-27 in the final 15 minutes to come away with a 100-97 victory at the SCAC/ASC Holiday Crossover Challenge hosted by Schreiner University in Kerrville, Texas on Friday, December 29.
The victory now puts LETU at 8-2 overall this season and 5-1 in non-conference action while the Bulldogs fell to 4-6 overall.
A slow start would not be an issue initially for LeTourneau, with the YellowJackets jumping out and scoring the first four points of the game before seeing TLU tie the game at 6-6 and again at 8-8 just four minutes into the game. Texas Lutheran’s early lead of the game would come at the 15:20 mark in the first half as part of a 17-2 run that gave the Bulldogs a 23-12 lead with 12:07 remaining in the first half. The double-digit lead wouldn’t last long for TLU. LeTourneau would come back with an 11-0 run that would include three straight triples to cut the lead 25-23 with 7:37 remaining in the first half. Then Texas Lutheran once again would go on an extensive run by outscoring LETU 29-12 the rest of the way in the first half and take a 54-35 lead into the locker room.
Six straight points for LETU would open up the second half and cut the TLU lead to 54-40, but it would again be a short spurt as the Bulldogs would respond with a 12-2 run to open up a 66-42 lead while looking to run away with the game. LeTourneau would find themselves looking for a spark to start cutting into the lead knowing that they had just over 16 minutes remaining in regulation when an Alec Colhofftriple managed to jump-start the YellowJacket rally.
A 13-0 run over the next three minutes of game action saw LeTourneau pull within 11 at 70-59 as Texas Lutheran would endure a 3:37 scoring drought. LETU managed to get the deficit to single digits on a pair of Justin Moore free throws as three-point shooting once again came into the fold with Moore and Nate West connecting on back-to-back three’s to pull LeTourneau within two at 75-73. The YellowJackets reclaimed the lead for the first time in the second half when West would hit another triple with 9:24 remaining in regulation before seeing things go back-and-forth for the next several minutes.
Neither team would be able to stake a lead larger than six points in the final eight minutes of regulation with Texas Lutheran reclaiming the lead and holding onto it until a pair of West free throws with 4:53 remaining gave LETU an 87-86 lead. The free throws would be part of eight straight points for LeTourneau to take their largest lead of the game with just 3:05 remaining in the game. TLU managed to keep things interesting by cutting the game to a one-point deficit on a pair of Jackson Willoughby free throws, but Colhoff would manage to slip into the lane and get a layup to put LETU up by a score of 98-95 with 1:06 remaining. Colhoff and Sam Talbert then managed to hit one of two free throws each in separate trips to the free throw line which would allow for LETU to escape with the comeback victory as Texas Lutheran saw a 35-foot game-tying three hit off the backboard as time expired.
“I’m proud of our guys for showing tremendous heart in the second half and always believing they could get over the hump and win despite being down 24,” said head coach Dan Miller in a post-game interview. “You could tell we haven’t played a game in a while and TLU played an excellent first half while shooting lights out.” “At halftime, I challenged our guys to play with passion on defense and loose on offense which they responded and answered the call.” “That is a good TLU team that we found a way to get a win over today.”
Shooting the ball at a 59.46 percent (22-37) clip in the second half, LETU managed to finish 35-72 (48.6 percent) from the field while knocking down 21 of 25 (84 percent) free throws. LeTourneau also managed to hold a 37-33 advantage on the glass in the game and score 46 points in the paint along with 19 second-chance points.
West would lead all players with 24 points in the game and add four assists and six steals while Caylab Herrera and Colhoff each had 19 points. Moore pitched in 17 points and nine rebounds while Caleb Loggins rounded out all five starters in double-figures with 11 points and five boards. TLU was led by a team-high 23 points from Alex Cage while Sebastian Andrade had 15 points and seven rebounds.
Tomorrow will round out non-conference action for the YellowJackets this year when LETU takes on host Schreiner University at 4 p.m. in the SCAC/ASC Holiday Challenge.
Matt Kinney
Sports Information Director