Campus News

M BASKETBALL: Tigers' road win at LeTourneau marks No. 200 for West at ETBU

LONGVIEW, Texas (2/2/10) – Outside of perhaps winning a championship or big game at home in front of ETBU’s fans in Ornelas Gymnasium, the Tigers picked perhaps the most fitting place to hand Bert West his 200th career win as the program’s coach Tuesday night.

Using a 12-0 run with just over six minutes to go in the second half, the Tigers (10-10, 8-7) won their fourth straight game by posting a huge 72-65 victory over rival LeTourneau in Solheim Arena. The win moves the Tigers, who were in the cellar of the ASC East Division just two weeks ago, into a third-place tie with the Yellow Jackets (9-10, 8-7) in the standings.

It was also the 200th win for West as coach of the Tigers, a 16-year journey that puts him and his close friend Jim Webb as the only men’s basketball coaches in ETBU history to win 200 games coaching the Tigers.

And as is typical between the two East Texas rivals, No. 200 will be memorable because it wasn’t easy. The Tigers turned the ball over 17 times in the first half, allowed LeTourneau’s Dale Vanwright to light up the scoreboard with 31 points, and trailed by as much as six late in the second half.

But somehow, someway, ETBU found a way to win, a fact that was much more satisfying for West than getting No. 200 in the books.

"I’m really proud of the way we showed some toughness tonight, again,” West said. "We’re in the middle of a very challenging stretch physically here and so far these guys have answered every challenge. This was a tough win tonight, in a place that has been very tough on us over the years.

"I never really thought about this being (200th win) until I read today’s conference report and there was a note in there about it. I figured this was as good a place for us to get that win as any, tonight, and the guys responded. I’m very proud of them.”

LeTourneau showed signs of wanting to pull away from the turnover-prone Tigers in the first half, but every time the Jackets would get a burst ETBU would find an answer. Sometimes it was senior James Morman, who got off to a hot start by scoring 11 of the Tigers’ first 14 points. Sometimes it was a key three-pointer in the second half from freshmen RJ Prince or Jaron Joseph. Sometimes it was junior forward Deba Egharevba, who scored a quiet 13 points with nine rebounds while playing 36 minutes. And sometimes it was junior Josh Chambers, who overcame a rash of turnovers in the first half to score 10 points on the night and key the defensive stand in the second half that ignited the Tigers’ game-winning run with six minutes to go.

Junior point guard Jacob Turnipseed then finished off the Jackets, scoring 22 points on 7 of 14 shooting that included 7 of 9 free throws, three of which sealed the win in the closing seconds. Turnipseed added seven big rebounds and also had three steals In the win, which was the Tigers’ second win over the rival Jackets in seven days.

The Tigers needed every bit of the heroics to fend off Vanwright, whose 31 points on the night give him 57 points in two games against ETBU this season. ETBU held JJ Rockmore, who scored 23 last week in Ornelas Gym, to just 11 points on 4 of 10 shooting.

ETBU also pounded LeTourneau on the glass, finishing with a 43-28 rebounding edge. Egharevba and Jordan Murphy led the way with nine boards apiece, with Turnipseed adding seven.

ETBU will host Texas-Tyler Thursday night at 7:30 in Ornelas Gym in the Tigers’ final home game of the season. The Tigers are a half-game ahead of Texas-Tyler in the standings entering the game.