BROWNWOOD, Texas – Less than 72 hours after overcoming two second half double-digit deficits against UT Dallas, LETU dispelled any thoughts of a letdown at Brownwood Coliseum Thursday.
Andrew Eberhardt, who scored the game winner against the Comets, notched his fourth double-double of the season, pacing the YellowJackets to a 95-69 victory over Howard Payne. He notched game highs with 33 points and 12 rebounds.
LETU extended its winning streak to five, improving to 13-2 overall and 8-2 in American Southwest Conference play. The Yellow Jackets drop to 4-13, 3-9.
With the victory, the YellowJackets are 8-2 in the last 10 games against Howard Payne, including the last seven.
HPU kept the game close through the first 13 minutes but LETU closed the half with a 30-13 run, taking a 20-point advantage into the locker room.
The YellowJackets continued the onslaught after the break, building their largest lead of the game by tallying 24 of the first 35 points. Elijah Gerber's jumper pushed the margin out to 33 at 71-38, with 10:52 remaining. Both teams began to empty their respective benches until an LETU turnover led to a fastbreak dunk by Fredrick Watts cut the deficit to 20, with 6:10 showing on the clock.
Reinserted into the game, the starters restored order, moving the margin to 27 with a 9-2 spurt, capped off by a Kyle Matthews trey at the 2:43 mark.
Deonte Jackson finished with 15 points, five rebounds and five assists. Matthews corralled 11 boards and added six points. Fourteen YellowJackets logged playing time, with 11 scoring points and 12 grabbing a board.
LETU continues its four-game road trip against Sul Ross State at 3 p.m. Saturday.