LONGVIEW, TEXAS – On day two in Texas, the Cougars faced off against tournament host LeTourneau University, where another last second thriller would ensue. Despite a late run in favor of the Cougars, the Yellowjackets would steal this game in the final seconds and send the Cougars home 1-1 on the weekend. The Cougars fell to the Yellowjackets 74-72.
INSIDE THE BOX
- Jacob Collicott (Lafayette, Ind.) picked up his second double-double of the season with 22 points and 11 rebounds while adding on four assists, four steals, and three blocks.
- Darrian Williams (Garland, Texas) picked up a career-high 22 points while adding in four rebounds, three steals, and one assist.
- Kenton Pryor (Hazel Crest, Ill.) worked on the boards and collected a career-high six rebounds while tacking on three points, two assists, and one steal.
HOW IT HAPPENED
FIRST HALF
The Cougars struck first off a fast break layup from Williams while a layup from
Sean Beckman (Hoffman Estates, Ill.) would put the Cougars up 4-0 in under two minutes.
The Cougars jumped ahead by six after a
Joel Watts (Homewood, Ill.) transitioned into a layup for Collicott and gave them their largest lead of the game, just three minute in. The Yellowjackets went on a 10-2 run and jumped ahead of the Cougars before the first timeout of the game gave both teams time to reset. Despite fresh legs on both sides coming out of the half, the game would see a stalemate for over five minutes of play before a jumper from Williams would break the scoring drought and put the Cougars back ahead by one. Pryor would secure a rebound that would transition into a layup for
Aaron Brown (Joliet, Ill.) off the hands of Williams and further extend their lead.
With only eight field goals made for the remainder of the half, the Yellowjackets would jump ahead by two as the clock ran out. Buckets from Lowery, Pryor, and Williams would close out the half with the Cougars shooting 37% from the field and 50% from three.
SECOND HALF
Trailing heading into the second half, the Cougars fell behind by as much as nine before the first timeout of the half gave them a chance to settle down. Buckets from Collicott and Williams fresh out of the timeout cut the Cougar deficit down to three, but the Yellowjackets remained vigilant.
With the Yellowjackets finding offensive momentum, some fresh legs entered in for the Cougars to once again help settle in. After a missed free throw from Collicott, he picked up a steal that converted into a layup for Williams to bring the Cougars within three once again. Despite the Yellowjackets jumping out to as much as a seven point lead, the Cougars would chip away slowly and level the score at 53 apiece off a three from Williams.
The Yellowjackets would once again jump ahead and go up by seven before back-to-back buckets from Watts and Williams would cut their deficit down. A steal and fast break layup from Watts would bring the Cougars within three. On the inbound, the Yellowjackets would lose the ball off a Pryor steal that would put Watts at the charity stripe to make it a one point game. The Cougars would call a timeout and assess, but a steal from Watts turned into a fast break layup would give the Cougars their first lead of the second half with under a minute to play.
A free throw from the Yellowjackets would level the score and give the Cougars the ball back with 20 seconds to play, but a missed jumper from Collicott would hand things back to the Yellowjackets where they would find a layup to jump ahead by two with three seconds remaining. Two consecutive timeouts would give both teams time to get set. Off the baseline inbound, Collicott made his way up the floor, but couldn't get the shot off in time, ultimately resulting in the Cougars falling 74-72.
The Cougars head back to the Midwest to travel to Wisconsin to take on University of Wisconsin-Parkside on Tuesday, November 26
th in an exhibition game. Coverage can be found at cucougars.com/coverage.
