By Alan Wiederhold
LETU Sports Information
LONGVIEW – All five of Louisiana College's starters scored in double-figures as the visiting Wildcats raced to a 93-62 win Saturday at LeTourneau.
Danny Sumner scored a game-high 21 points – all from the 3-point arc – to lead Louisiana College (9-9, 8-6 ASC East). Sumner shot 7-of-12 from long-range and hit five treys in the first half.
Sumner was just one of many Wildcats firing away from the 3-point circle. Louisiana College players shot 46 percent (17 of 37) from behind the arc, which included 10 successful 3-point attempts before halftime.
Freshman guard Jarrod Hudgens (Montgomery, Texas/Montgomery) led the YellowJackets by scoring 14 points. He was 5-of-7 from the field and drained all four of his free throw attempts.
LeTourneau freshman Karsten Winegeart (Abilene, Texas/Abilene) came off the bench and scored a career-high 13 points for the YellowJackets.
The loss kept LeTourneau (1-18) winless in 14 American Southwest Conference games this season.
The Wildcats jumped out to an 8-0 advantage barely two minutes into the contest and never relinquished their lead. The YellowJackets were largely able to keep their opponents in sight during the first half, getting as close as five points.
After falling behind by 17 points in the final two minutes of the first half, the Jackets finished the period with a 6-0 run that cut Louisiana College's lead to 48-37 by the midgame break. The run included three free throws by Deitrich Williams (Fort Worth, Texas/Grace Prep), who was fouled on a 3-point attempt with one-tenth of a second remaining in the half.
The YellowJackets shot 45 percent from the field (13 of 29) in the first half to remain within striking distance of their visitors; the Wildcats were able to create a comfortable margin in the second half as they held the Jackets to 24 percent shooting (6 of 25) in the second half.
Williams finished the game with nine points for the Jackets. Luke Taylor, Jr. (Houston, Texas/Elsik) and Jace Williamson (Van Alstyne, Texas/Van Alstyne) scored seven points apiece for LeTourneau.
Korey Salmon scored 16 points and JeLani Mitchell added 15 points for Louisiana College.
The YellowJackets will return to action when they make their eastward road trip to Mississippi College and Louisiana College this week. The Jackets face Mississippi College on Thursday, with tipoff scheduled for 7:30 p.m.