Before Friday's 90-61 win over Westcliff University inside the MacArthur Center, Master's coach
Kelvin Starr challenged his bigs to improve on the boards.
"We got out-rebounded last game for the first time since I can't remember," Starr said, referencing Wednesday's win over Bethesda. "So that was the big challenge: to bounce back."
The Mustangs rebounded in more than one sense, pulling down 20 offensive rebounds and outdoing the Warriors on the glass by 11 on the way to their fifth straight win to open the year. Master's has won its last 42 home games, a streak that spans nearly three years and has often been supported by TMU's ability to defend. Friday was no exception.
The Mustangs compiled 15 steals and scored 26 points off 20 turnovers, pulling away in the second half for their third consecutive win by double digits.
Tim Soares led Master's with 24 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks.
Brock Gardner added 15 points, and
Darryl McDowell-White rounded out TMU starters in double figures with 12 points in only 15 minutes due to foul trouble. He was 4-of-5 from three.
Off the bench,
Anton Mozga scored 16 points and
Sam Boone chipped in nine points and 13 rebounds.
The Mustangs as a whole did not shoot particularly well (30% from deep), but a 12-2 run to open the second half doubled what had been a 10-point lead at the break.
DJ Wilson, a 6-foot guard, capped the run with an emphatic dunk over the outstretched arm of a 6-8 defender.
"To have a guy like that go up on a 6-8 guy who was pretty bouncy, that was amazing," said Soares, who was trailing the play. "I had a front row seat, so that was pretty cool."
Soares scored 15 points before halftime. He also had three of his five offensive rebounds during that span. He said the extra opportunities were crucial for TMU on a night it wasn't at its best shooting the ball.
"It helps us get in the flow and gets our confidence up because you get a second shot," said Soares, whose team was narrowly out-rebounded Wednesday by Bethesda, 43-42. "Usually, the second shot is a higher percentage too because the defense is scrambling."
In the first half, the Mustangs were scrambling to cover Jacob Knox, who scored 22 points on 9-of-13 shooting. After intermission, TMU limited Knox to two made field goals and only four points, a development that helped the Mustangs expand their lead to a comfortable margin – even though Westcliff continued to battle.
"There's no quit in them," Starr said of the Warriors. "We got up by 20, 25, and they didn't quit. They competed. I thought it was a great game for us."
