No. 6 Master's ready for rivalry showdown with Westmont

 
When breaking down the challenges presented by Westmont College on Saturday night, The Master's University men's basketball team could start in a number of places.

For one, there's 6-foot-8 senior Olisa Nwachie, who transferred to Westmont from NCAA Division 1 St. John's in New York before last season.

Nwachie averaged better than 19 points and seven rebounds in three meetings with the Mustangs in 2017-18.

"No deep catches for him," said TMU coach Kelvin Starr. "We have to make him play the game outside."

Then there's Kyle Scalmanini, a crafty 6-1 guard who plays the game the way you'd expect the son of a coach to. Kyle's father, Ken, has been the head men's basketball coach at Claremont-Mudd-Scripps for two decades. Kyle leads Westmont in scoring at 15.2 points a night.

"We can't let him get comfortable," Starr said.

Maybe the most daunting aspect of the Warriors, however, is how thoroughly they've bought into coach John Moore's system at this point in the year.

"They run their offense really well," said TMU center Tim Soares. "Everybody knows their job, and they really play well as a team."

The Mustangs' job?

"To mess it up as much as we can and get them out of their positions," said Soares. "And try to win a basketball game."

The No. 6-ranked Mustangs (15-2, 4-1 in Golden State Athletic Conference) will host Westmont inside The MacArthur Center at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, looking for their 31st straight home win and eighth straight victory overall.  

Master's currently sits in a three-way tie for first place in GSAC standings, along with No. 15 Vanguard University and Hope International.

The Mustangs will travel to Costa Mesa to face Vanguard on Jan. 17. But first they must deal with a Westmont team that easily could be unbeaten in conference play.

The Warriors (9-4, 3-2) led No. 11 Arizona Christian for all but the final 1:36 in a loss on Nov. 29. Then they took Vanguard to overtime on Dec. 8, eventually falling by two.

Westmont's offense is balanced and efficient.   

Seven Warriors average more than seven points a game, and the club ranks fifth nationally in field goal percentage (53%).

It all presents a test for Master's, which has gradually improved on defense throughout the year. The Mustangs lead the GSAC in opponents' field goal percentage, the defensive stat Starr has said he's most concerned with.

On offense, Starr believes TMU has begun to find its identity individually and collectively, with roles and rotations more settled.

Master's is churning out 91 points per game, approximately two fewer than a year ago but still among the nation's top 15 in that category.

Starr sees plenty of room for improvement on that end of the floor. Too often, he said, the Mustangs have made life harder on themselves than need be.

The club needs to be more efficient, Starr said, circling that as a key to Saturday's game.

The Mustangs have won four straight against the Warriors, their last loss in the series coming on Dec. 7, 2016, a double-overtime thriller in Newhall.

The challenges Saturday will be multifaceted.

In addition to preventing Nwachie, who's averaging 15.1 points on 60% shooting, from catching the ball deep in the paint, Starr said the Mustangs must keep him off the glass and stay in front of him on the perimeter.

Some things, the coach said, can't be contained.

"His passion and energy will be there," Starr said.

The Mustangs plan to match Westmont's intensity.  

"We have to be ready to go," said Starr. "I don't think that will be a question. Our guys are always up for this one."