The Mustangs were ready to finish a grueling stretch of four games in eight days, and Thursday's first half made sure they reached the finish line on a high note.
Fueled by a quick start, Master's ran away early and then squashed any hope of a comeback by San Diego Christian in an 89-78 victory in a GSAC game played at Vanguard University in Costa Mesa.
"We played a great first half tonight on both ends of the floor," said TMU head coach
Kelvin Starr, whose team has won three straight games since losing to Menlo by one on Feb. 6.
Seniors
Tim Soares and
Brock Gardner, who each scored a game-high 23 points, fueled the Mustangs in the first half, combining for 24 points.
Soares scored 15 points and had two blocks while Gardner dropped in nine points, snared five rebounds, and dished out four assists over the opening 20 minutes.
Sophomore
Jordan Starr scored six points in the first half and finished with 16.
The Mustangs limited the Hawks to 37% shooting in the first half.
Starr's jumper 27 seconds into play sparked a 9-0 run to start the game for the Mustangs, and Gardner's three-pointer capped it with 17:15 left in the opening half.
The Mustangs (20-6, 10-5 GSAC) led by as many as 18 points in the first half, including the 43-25 halftime score.
They enjoyed one more 18-point cushion (45-27) in the second half and were up 49-32 with 17:26 left to play before the Hawks started to slice into the deficit.
San Diego Christian outscored the Mustangs 11-2 in a 1:50 window to pull within 51-43.
A Gardner trey, his second and final one of the game, with 15:10 remaining temporarily restored order, but the Hawks weren't done yet.
They got within eight points five more times, including a 66-58 deficit with 7:58 left to play.
Soares then hit a jumper, putting the advantage back into double digits again and keeping it there.
Two free throws by Starr, who tallied 10 second-half points, made it a 78-62 game at the 3:35 mark.
Gardner ended with a flourish, scoring seven of the Mustangs' final nine points.
The Mustangs converted at a 62% clip from the field in the second half but allowed the Hawks to score 53 points over the final 20 minutes.
Comparing his team's play in each half, Starr said, "(The) second half was a different story. We were not locked in defensively."
Following a three-day break, the Mustangs will be back in action Monday evening when they host the University of Saint Katherine in a non-conference matchup at 6 p.m. in the MacArthur Center.
"Happy to finish four games in eight days with a win," said Starr. "It has been a brutal stretch."
