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LeTourneau University – Sports

 

 

 

 

 

 

MEN’S BASKETBALL

LONGVIEW, Texas – The LeTourneau University, men’s basketball team will play Hanover University at 5:30 p.m. ET (4:30 p.m. CT) on Friday, March 2 at the Woodruff P.E. Center in Atlanta, Georgia in the opening round of the 2018 NCAA Division III Men’s Basketball Championship.

LETU will enter the opening round regional as the number two seed in the four-team pod and will play the Panthers who are 22-6 overall and winners of the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference. Host Emory University will play Berry College in a 7:30 p.m. ET (6:30 p.m. CT) game on Friday night. The two advancing teams squaring off at 7:00 p.m. ET (6:00 p.m. CT) on Saturday for a right to advance to the NCAA Division III Sectional Round.

The YellowJackets earned one of 21 at-large Pool C berths into the NCAA Division III Tournament, holding a 23-4 overall record heading into Friday’s game which will be their first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance. Emory University also earned a Pool C at-large berth into the tournament for their seventh appearance all-time, and are currently ranked No. 6 in the latest D3Hoops.com poll. Hanover is making their eighth all-time appearance in the NCAA Division III Men’s Basketball Championships with a 22-6 overall record and is coming off of an appearance in the NCAA Division III Men’s Basketball Elite Eight round last season. Berry College will make their first appearance in the NCAA Division III Tournament after winning the Southern Athletic Association Tournament as the number eight seed and will enter the tournament with an 11-17 record.

LeTourneau has five players averaging double-figures this season, led by American Southwest Conference East Division Player of the Year Nate West at 18.4 points per game. The YellowJackets are currently ninth in NCAA Division III in scoring average, scoring 94.9 points per game. LETU has eclipsed the century mark ten times this season, scoring a season-high 118 points in a home win over Belhaven on February 10.

Hanover will present a vast difference in style for the YellowJackets, as the Panthers currently rank 22nd in scoring defense this year while allowing just 65.7 points per game. HC also ranks sixth in field-goal percentage, shooting 50.9 percent from the field and is led by guard Cameron Fails who averages 18.2 points per game. Hanover will also rely on senior forward Wes McKinney who was named one of 10 finalists for the Jostens Trophy, which is awarded to the outstanding NCAA Division III men’s and women’s basketball players who excel on the court, in the classroom, and in the community.

Emory University finished with a 21-4 overall record, with all four losses coming to just three opponents. The Eagles are winners of five straight and have not lost since February 4, with Friday’s game matching the second time that this year that they will take on Berry University. Senior guard Whit Rapp will lead the Emory offense, as the Noblesville, Indiana native averages 7.1 assists per game (fourth-best among NCAA Division III players) and has an assist to turnover ratio of 3.65. Emory will also rely on their three-point shooting, as the Eagles rank 48th in NCAA Division III with 9.7 three’s per game.

Berry College will enter as the surprise of the tournament, with the .393 winning percentage the lowest of any of the 64-team field. The Vikings have managed to get to the free throw line the third-most of any NCAA Division III team this year with 731 attempts and rank 60th with an average of 41.0 rebounds per game. Junior forward Elijah Hirsh will be a player to watch for Berry this weekend, as the Woodstock, GA native has recorded 18 double-doubles this season and ranks 21st among all NCAA Division III players with 58 blocks this season.

 

MEN’S GOLF

AUSTIN, Texas – Struggles throughout the day would see the LeTourneau University men’s golf team manage to shoot a final round team score of 329 to finish 13th in the Linda Lowery Invitational at River Place Country Club in Austin, Texas on Tuesday, February 27.

LETU’s final round score would be combined with their first-day score of 313 to the meet with a total of 642 and edge out the University of Texas-Dallas (644), Hardin-Simmons University (646) and Howard Payne University (655). The meet, which was hosted by Concordia University Texas, saw the host Tornadoes come away with the team victory after shooting a final round low-team score of 292 to finish with a 36-hole score of 586. Texas-Tyler came in second with a two-day total of 597 with Southwestern University rounding out the top-three (615).

Individually, senior Daniel Kay would lead the YellowJackets with a final round of 80 to finish in a tie for 12th after concluding the meet with a total of 153. Mason Terry had the best round of the day for LETU, shooting a final round 79 to finish tied for 29th (157) while Chris Clark finished four shots back of Terry following a final round of 80 (81-80-161 total, T48). Cody Taylor would also compete for LeTourneau on Tuesday, finishing with a final round of 90.

An off week is next in store for the YellowJackets, followed by the Pinecrest Intercollegiate which will be hosted by LETU. The meet will take place March 12th and 13th in Longview, with more details to come on www.letuathletics.com.

 

WOMEN’S GOLF

AUSTIN, Texas – Following a delayed start to the morning due to fog, the LeTourneau University women’s golf team would have to fight harsh conditions throughout the day in the final round of the Linda Lowery Invitational held at Balcones Country Club in Austin, Texas on Monday, February 27.

LETU had only three players compete in the meet, so they didn’t keep a team score for the YellowJackets in the nine-team tournament. Southwestern University would end up winning the competition with a two-day total of 657 while host Concordia University finished eight strokes back in second place (665). Hardin-Simmons University would round out the top-three with a two-day total of 669.

Individually, LeTourneau was led by Lauren Johnson who shot a final round of 92 to finish with a two-day total of 177 and finish 24th overall. Freshman Bree Mask would wind up one shot back of Johnson in a tie for 25th after shooting a final round 91 to finish the 36-hole meet with a score of 178. The only other LETU’s golfer in the tournament was Rachael Green, who finished with a two-day total of 192 (94-98).

LeTourneau’s next meet in the 2018 spring season will come at home when the YellowJackets host the Pinecrest Intercollegiate at Pinecrest Country Club in Longview. The competition will take place March 12-13 with more details to come soon.

 

MEN’S BASKETBALL

RICHARDSON, Texas – The American Southwest Conference has released the 2017-18 ASC Men’s Basketball All-Conference Team, with sophomore guard Nate West and senior guard Alec Colhoff both named to the six-person team.

In addition to announcing the All-Conference Team, the ASC offices also released the All-Division Teams, which features four YellowJacket basketball players and head men’s basketball coach Dan Miller following a vote of the league’s head coaches.

West was named ASC East Division Player of the year, as LeTourneau also had freshman Justin Moore Named ASC East Freshman of the Year and junior Caleb Loggins named ASC East Defensive Player of the Year. After winning ASC East Coach of the year last season, Miller earns his second consecutive ASC East Coach of the Year award.

West is the second player in a row from LeTourneau to earn East Division Player of the Year. He ranked sixth in the ASC with 18.4 points per game, fourth with 4.6 assists and led the league with an 87.1 free throw percentage. He also averaged 5.7 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game.

Colhoff has had a record-setting season for LeTourneau, scoring his 1,000th point in a home win over Louisiana College on January 20th before setting the career made three-point field goals record one just 12 days later. This season, Colhoff has averaged 14.8 points per game and has made a team-high 74 three-point field goals, which ranks fourth in a single-season at LeTourneau. The Katy, Texas native is the only player in LETU history to make 200 or more career three-point field goals in a YellowJacket uniform.

Moore had a breakout rookie campaign, averaging 15.9 points per game (11th in the ASC) and 5.7 rebounds per game (16th in the ASC). The Houston, Texas native also had 95 assists and 37 steals and had a team-high 121 made free-throws this season.

Loggins caused matchup problems for ASC teams all-year, recording 39 steals and 37 blocks while also averaging 15.6 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. The Lewisville, Texas native made his presence known in some of the most significant sports that LETU played this year. He held the ASC leading scorer Khyce Randall to just 16 points (five in the second half) and Texas-Tyler forward Emeka Obukwelu to only 16 points (four in the second half) as LeTourneau would go on to win both games. In a 95-85 road win at East Texas Baptist University, Loggins would be given the task of guarding Tiger forward Jordan Gosey in the second half, holding the big man to just seven points as the YellowJackets would earn the crucial victory in Marshall.

Miller earns his second ASC East Coach of the Year Award after guiding LeTourneau to a second-straight record-setting year. After last year’s squad set a new season-win record with 22 wins, the YellowJackets set a new record with 23 wins as it currently stands and the second ASC East Division Title in school history. The 2017-18 team also earned the first NCAA Division III Men’s Basketball Championship bid in school history.

 

MEN’S SOCCER

LONGVIEW, Texas – LONGVIEW, Texas – LeTourneau University has announced Collin Cone as its new head men’s soccer coach, as announced February 27th by the director of athletics Terri Deike. Cone will officially begin his duties with LeTourneau University in the coming weeks, following his relocation to the Longview area.

Before joining the YellowJacket family, Cone spent three years at Grace College and Theological Seminary in Winona Lake, Indiana, where he was central to the recruiting efforts for the Lancers while also specializing in work with the goalkeepers.

In addition to coaching at Grace University, Cone also spent four years as a student-athlete for the Lancers and was a three-year starter. As a senior, Cone posted seven shutouts in the regular season to propel the Lancers to a third-place finish in the Crossroads League. His efforts led to being named to the All-League Team.

During his junior year, Cone was honored nationally as the NAIA Defensive Player of the week after shutting out Indiana Wesleyan despite the Lancers playing a man down.

Cone’s time as a student-athlete at Grace College included two straight trips to the National Christian College Athletic Association National Tournament, which marked the first time that Grace College made back-to-back appearances since the 1982-1983 seasons.

In total, Cone registered a 23-16-7 mark in goal for the Lancers, making 203 saves and posting 15 shutouts.

Cone currently holds a United States Soccer Federation (USSF) – D License for coaching. Also following diplomas from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA): Advanced National Diploma, Director of Coaching Diploma, Goalkeeping 1, 2, and 3 Diploma, Foundations of Coaching Diploma, and Futsal Level 1 Diploma.