LONGVIEW, Texas – The McMurry University men's basketball team got off to a fast start, but was unable to close the deal in a 67-55 setback at LeTourneau University. The War Hawks are now 4-3 overall and 2-1 in the American Southwest Conference, while the YellowJackets are also 4-3 on the year and 1-2 in league play.
 
Aaron Gettys tallied five straight points as McM went up 5-0. The visitors eventually grew their advantage to nine, 15-6, midway through the opening period on a pair of Darius Watts free throws.
 
That's when McMurry went cold and the host LETU team began to thaw out.  The YellowJackets outscored the War Hawks with a 20-6 run to close out the half and take a 26-21 margin into the halftime locker room.
 
An early second half run got McM back into contention. A Nate Estrada jumper with 13:22 on the clock knotted the game at 38-38. A few moments later, Estrada converted one of two free throws to put his team ahead for the first time since early in the game, 39-38. The two teams would swap leads over the next seven minutes.
 
LETU upped its lead to six at the 5:51 mark. But by 3:38 remaining, McM had it to within a single basket, 57-55, on a Kaan Yilmaz free throw. Unfortunately for the War Hawks, no more points would be in the cards for them, as the YellowJackets finished the game with a 10-0 run and the 67-55 win.
 
Luke Stephenson came off the McM bench to tally a game-high 18 points. Stephenson was 6-of-12 from the field and 4-for-6 from beyond the three-point arc.
 
Gettys finished with 10 points as the only other double-digit scorer for McM. Gettys had a 4-for-5 game from the floor and dished off a team-best three assists.
 
Yilmaz narrowly missed the double-double with nine assists and a game-leading 11 rebounds. Estrada and LaRandall Scroggins each booked seven points. Scroggins grabbed eight rebounds and Estrada seven boards.
 
McMurry continues the road trip on Monday at the University of Texas-Tyler.