RICHARDSON, TX (01.16.16) - Trailing most of the game, got a three-pointer from Ben Smith with just over two minutes left to grab the lead as the UT Dallas men's basketball team rallied for an 82-79 home win over LeTourneau Saturday afternoon in a key American Southwest Conference East Division clash.

The Comets (now 10-3, 4-2 ASC) picked up their third straight win despite trailing LETU all but 3:28 of the contest. UTD finished strong, outscoring the YellowJackets by 15 points over the final 12 and half minutes of the game. The Comets, now tied atop the ASC East standings with East Texas Baptist, will try to extend their winning streak to four straight games Monday night as they visit Concordia Texas in ASC crossover play. Game time is 7:30 p.m. in Austin.

The Comets trailed LETU, 59-47 with 12:30 remaining in the contest after Jeff Martin fast-break lay up gave the YellowJackets their largest margin of the afternoon. However, the Comets would roll off a 12-1 run over the next four minutes, capped by a Caleb Banks lay up to knot the game, 60-60, with 8:35 left. The Comets would force two more ties before taking their first lead since the first minute of the contest when Smith hit his first two three-pointers down the stretch to lift UTD to a 67-66 advantage with 6:16 remaining.

The YellowJackets (now 7-10, 5-4 ASC) responded with three-pointers by C.J. Edwards and Sam Talbert on their next two possessions to regain a five-point lead, 72-67, with 4:31 left. Smith's final three-pointer would give the Comets back the lead, 76-74, with 2:07 on the clock. LETU's Talbert then hit a pair of free throws to knot the game, 76-76, on the YellowJackets' next trip down the floor but LETU could not regain the lead as UTD got a pair of lay ups by Reagan Keogh to hold off the guests. The YellowJackets had a potential game-tying three-pointer by Edwards with four seconds left that fell short.

UTD opened the scoring with a breakaway lay up by Kyle Coulter, but the Yellow Jackets answered with a 14-2 run over the next four minutes and seemingly take control of the contest. The Comets would then respond, however, with eight straight points, getting back-to-back three-pointers from Caleb Banks and Jon Hatcher to draw within two points, 14-12, with 13:27 left in the opening half. LETU answered with a 10-1 run of its own to snag its largest lead of the opening half, 34-13, with 10:09 left before the break after a layup by Martin. The Comets slowly climbed back late in the half and used a buzzer-beating three-pointer by Coulter to tie the game, 40-40, entering the locker room.

After hitting a season-high 15 three-pointers Thursday night in a win over Texas-Tyler, the Comets finished Saturday's game 12-of-26 (46.2%) from three-point range. UTD shot 49.3 percent (33-of-67) from the field as a team and hit 4-of-7 (57.1%) free throws. Banks led the Comets with 17 points, along with seven assists, as he was 7-for-10 from the field with a pair of three-pointers. Hatcher, Coulter and Smith each finished with 11 points while Keogh had 10 points. Hatcher and Keogh each had a team-best six rebounds as the Comets out-rebounded LETU, 38-25.

For the YellowJackets, Edwards scored a game-high 24 points leading three LETU players in double figures. Caleb Loggins had 15 points while Martin finished with 12 points, 12 assists and seven rebounds. LETU shot 53.3 percent (32-of-60) from the floor, connecting on 12-of-29 three-pointers (41.4%), and were 3-of-6 (50%) from the line.