Patriots Finish Off Season Sweep of LeTourneau in 71-66 Win
February 6, 2010
LONGVIEW – The University of Texas at Tyler men’s basketball team finished off a season sweep of LeTourneau University on Saturday night at Solheim Arena, using senior forward Hakeem Kareem’s third 20-point effort in the last four games and two clutch 3-pointers from Neal Welch down the stretch to earn a hard-fought, 71-66 victory.
In a game that featured 12 ties and 11 lead changes, it was Welch’s 3-pointer off a Travan Porchia assist with 3:57 left in regulation that broke a 58-58 tie and put the Patriots ahead for good. Welch had been 0-for-5 from beyond the arc up until that point, but connected on his final two attempts that allowed UT Tyler to pull out a huge road win.
UT Tyler (12-9, 8-8 ASC) led by as many as nine in the opening half, 23-14, but saw its lead evaporate minutes later when the host YellowJackets closed the half on a 15-5 run to take a one-point lead at intermission, 29-28.
Back-to-back-to-back 3s from Kareem and Porchia capped a 9-3 run for the Patriots and put them ahead by five minutes into the second half before LeTourneau responded with 15 of the next 22 points to go ahead 48-45.
Five unanswered from UT Tyler knotted the game for a ninth time at 50-50 with 8:24 left in regulation, as the Patriots got another three from Porchia and a tip-in from senior Josh Twine for two of his 14 points on the night.
The teams would go back-and-forth the ensuing 4:24 and were tied on two more occasions before Welch's 3-ball and Dexter McMarion's layup put the Patriots ahead a final time at 63-58 with just over 3 minutes to play. From there, UT Tyler settled in and connected on 11 of its final 13 free throws, including 8-of-8 from Kareem, to preserve the win.
UT Tyler was out-shot on the night 46 to 40 percent, but made up for it by playing unselfish basketball and assisting on 16 of 24 field goals on the evening. The Patriots also forced 18 LeTourneau turnovers that led to 18 points on the offensive end and held standout JJ Rockmore to 1-of-11 shooting on the night and just nine points – seven of those coming from the free throw line.
Kareem's 21 led all scorers on the game, followed by 14 points and eight rebounds from Twine and seven points apiece from Porchia and McMarion. The teams finished even on the boards with 36 apiece.
The Patriots will return to the Herrington Patriot Center on Feb. 11 for their final four games of the regular season.
