This was not an official Golden State Athletic Conference contest. But Saturday night inside the MacArthur Center did provide a taste of conference competition for a largely new group of Mustang men's basketball players.
The No. 19-ranked Mustangs showed plenty of promise in a 77-68 non-conference win over San Diego Christian, a team TMU will see again when GSAC play commences in January.
Kaleb Lowery scored a team-high 19 points, helping the Mustangs win their home-opener for the 15th straight season. The 6-foot-8 freshman also had 11 rebounds, four assists and four blocks. Sophomore Jay Turley added 17 points, connecting on a trio of three-pointers in the first half.
Freshman Caden Starr rounded out the Mustangs in double figures with 12 points.
"I was happy tonight to see the student-athletes on both teams have a chance to compete," said Master's head coach Kelvin Starr. "I like the unselfish play of our team. The ball moved well for most of the game."
Coach Starr's main concern centered on TMU's inability at times to take care of the ball.
"Twenty-one turnovers in a game will not get it done," he said.
On this night, at least, the Mustangs produced enough highlights to overcome the mistakes. Jordan Starr tallied nine points, 13 rebounds and five assists for TMU, which led by as many as 19 in the first half before a late Hawks run cut into the advantage.
San Diego (0-3) came within eight points on two occasions in the final minutes, but Caden Starr knocked down all four of his free throws in that span to put the game away.
It was Turley that carried the Mustangs offensively in the first half. The sophomore guard made one three-pointer … then another … then one more for good measure. He connected on 4-of-6 from distance in the game overall, a big part of his career-high 17 points.
Lowery, a highly touted freshman from Santa Clarita Christian School, also registered a career high in the scoring column. He scored 15 in TMU's season-opening win over West Coast Baptist on Nov. 10.
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