The LeTourneau University men's basketball team snapped a five-game home losing streak with a 94-82 win over the University of Texas-Tyler on Saturday afternoon in Solheim Arena.
The YellowJackets (4-14, 3-12 ASC) shot a blistering 64% from the field in the second half and four players scored in double figures including junior Aaron Frizell, who scored a game-high 28 – 24 of which came in the second half. The 28 points by Frizell are the most by a LeTourneau player since Ladaria Brown scored 28 against the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor on January 4.
Frizell was joined in double figures by sophomore Ladaria Brown, who had 17 – 13 of which came in the first half; senior Justin Jones added his league leading 11th double double of the season with a 20-point, 15-rebound effort and sophomore Chris Hynes had 12 points and a game-high six assists. The 15 rebounds by Jones were a season-high and one shy of his career-high of 16 which he had against Paul Quinn on November 26, 2012.
The Patriots (10-9, 9-7 ASC) had four in double digits including Travis Dykman, who scored a team-high 23. He was joined in double figures by Bryce Kemp, who added 18 and Jordan Cannon and Nathan Harbour added 15 and 12, respectively.
Brown made three 3 pointers in the first 4:31 of the game to give LeTourneau an early 11-6 advantage. However, the Patriots came back and eventually tied the game at 12 and the first half remained close with the score being tied on five more occasions as the two teams went into the halftime break tied at 35.
A 3 pointer by Harbour gave the Patriots an early lead in the second half but a 6-0 spurt by LeTourneau put the home team up by a 41-38 margin with 17:52 to play. Dykman hit his only 3 pointer of the game to tie the contest but the second half hero, Frizell went to the free throw line and made both to give LeTourneau a lead, 43-41 lead.
The game continued to be close and was tied on two more occasions until a 3 pointer by freshman Austin Horton sparked a 10-0 run for the YellowJackets, who eventually went ahead 60-50 with 10:33 to play. In the run, Jones and Frizell each hit 3 pointers to spark LeTourneau. LeTourneau would never relinquish the lead for the rest of the contest. UT-Tyler would draw as close as four, 73-69 but seven unanswered points silenced the threat.
LeTourneau will now return to the rigors of the road of the American Southwest Conference, beginning with a matchup against the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor in Belton on Thursday, February 6.