Brock Gardner's size, strength and athletic ability generally allow him to go wherever he wants to go on the basketball court, whenever he chooses to go there. However, it's Gardner's ability to restrain his 6-foot-7, 215-pound frame, that has led to a recent string of absurd scoring outbursts for The Master's University men's basketball team.
"I'm getting downhill in the flow of the offense and not trying to do too much," said Gardner, who had scored at least 40 points in each of his last two games entering Thursday's Golden State Athletic Conference opener at Arizona Christian. "By doing that, the game has slowed down."
Gardner scored another 34 points Thursday in Glendale, Arizona, reaching 1,000 for his Master's career and leading the No. 2-ranked Mustangs past No. 10 Arizona Christian, 92-83, in what was TMU's biggest test of the season so far.
Darryl McDowell-White added 21 points and Jordan Starr chipped in 14 for the Mustangs (8-0), who are off to their best start in at least 15 years and have now beaten Arizona Christian eight straight times.
The Firestorm (6-2) entered the game averaging 95 points a night, but the Mustangs took command of the boards and limited ACU's ability to get out in transition, a development that helped Master's turn an early nine-point deficit into a 10-point halftime lead.
The Mustangs led by as many as 20 in the second half before ACU climbed within six twice in the final two minutes. The Firestorm came no closer.
"We kept our composure as a team, stayed levelheaded and got consistent stops when we needed them," said Jordan Starr. "Every time we needed a big stop we got it. I felt like we showed a lot of maturity down the stretch."
The same could be said for Gardner's offensive game, the senior forward opting for higher percentage shots over his last three games when he's scored 40, 43 and 34 points respectively. He's shooting 63% from the floor during that span, and he's 13-of-22 from beyond the arc.
"I think he's just playing with confidence and he's taking a little more high percentage shots," said head coach Kelvin Starr. "He's shooting the three well, which helps everything in his game. He's fun to watch right now."
After Arizona Christian took a nine point lead four minutes into the highly-ancitpated conference opener, Gardner scored 10 of TMU's next 15 points to pull the Mustangs back in front, and Master's never trailed again.
"He's been a monster," said center Tim Soares, who had 10 points and nine rebounds. "He can go inside and out. He's an amazing player and his jumper is so clean."
McDowell-White went 4-of-9 from three Thursday with nine rebounds, helping the Mustangs out-rebound ACU 51-32.
"He was huge," Kelvin Starr said. "His athleticism shined out. All nine of his rebounds were huge and his block in transition was a big play."
The Mustangs will now transition to Surprise, Arizona, where they will take on OUAZ on Saturday. The Spirit opened GSAC play Thursday night with a 99-92 loss to No. 22 Westmont.
