Jordan Starr hurtled down the floor, the freshman initiating TMU's fast break and mirroring the break-neck pace with which the Mustangs were finally gaining on their highly-ranked opponent.
Reaching the three-point line, he pivoted and underhanded the ball back to
Hodges Bailey, who stepped into a rhythm trey. The ball dove into the bottom of the net, and what had been a 28-point deficit late in the first half was down to five with five minutes to play.
The No. 1-ranked Mustangs dug a colossal hole in Thursday's marquee matchup with No. 2 LSU Alexandria before finding a rhythm after halftime and whittling the deficit to almost nothing.
However, Master's clawed no closer than five points – falling 94-87 at the Texas Wesleyan Champions Classic in Fort Worth, Texas, and dropping to 0-1 a week after learning it would open the season at No. 1 in the NAIA Division 1 preseason poll for the first time in school history.
"It wasn't so much a lack of preparation as it was just our confidence level going into it," said Bailey, who finished with a team-high 19 points. "It's a different style of play at this level. It takes a different level of focus and intensity."
LSU Alexandria (2-0), fresh off an appearance in last year's national title game, scored a school-record 124 points in last week's season opener. Thursday, the Generals picked up where they left off.
LSUA rushed out to leads of 20-2 and 42-14, while the Mustangs forced up off-balance and out of character shots that didn't fall. Master's struggled against the Generals' aggressive man-to-man defense and had little answer for their size and length in the paint.
"When we're not clicking, we tend to play more isolation and we don't play as well," Bailey said. "Then their length and size become a factor. When we swing the ball and attack closeouts, then the size is neutralized."
Phillip Rankin, a 6-foot-8 forward, led the Generals with 21 points, while William Claiborne – at 6-11, 295 pounds – followed with 19.
TMU's
Hansel Atencia scored 18. And
Darryl McDowell-White and
Jordan Starr each added 13 points for Master's, which showed life in the closing minutes of the first half.
McDowell-White hit back-to-back 3-pointers. Then Bailey hit a three.
The sophomore, known for his long-range marksmanship, attacked the hoop with conviction, hitting a short jumper and a floater to help Master's close within 17 points at the half.
"Control what we can control," Bailey said of what Starr told the team at halftime of a game eerily similar to last season's first round playoff loss to Peru State. "We came out kind of scared, honestly. We weren't playing with confidence, playing our game. We needed to be disciplined and make the simple plays."
Things got worse before they got better. LSUA scored the first nine points of the second half and pushed the lead back to 26 with three minutes gone. But then
Jordan Starr hit a shot and
Michael Taylor tossed in a pair of buckets.
As Atencia found his shot, scoring 16 points after intermission, the Mustangs began to draw close, outscoring the Generals by 19 over the next 11 minutes.
Master's and LSUA traded baskets in the final four minutes, with TMU closing to within five again with 50 seconds to play on a
Delewis Johnson 3-pointer.
But JaMichael Brown hit two free throws moments later to seal TMU's seventh loss in its last 57 regular season games.
The Mustangs won't have much time to stew on this one. Master's will play No. 7 LSU Shreveport at 11 a.m. PST on Friday.
"The good thing is we get on the court right away tomorrow for a chance at redemption," Bailey said.
