The good news is that Master's men's basketball firmly believes its resume will earn it an at-large bid to the NAIA Division 1 tournament when the bracket is released March 11.
The bad news is that a slow start doomed the No. 20-ranked Mustangs in an 86-74 quarterfinal loss to Hope International on Thursday night, ending TMU's hopes of winning a fourth straight Golden State Athletic Conference tournament.
"I think we're in. I think we have enough respect that we'll make it there," Master's guard Darryl McDowell-White, who scored a team-high 21 points, said of the national tournament. "We've got enough wins on the board and we've beaten enough teams that are higher up to get there. It's just a matter of will we make the most of it from here on out."
Brock Gardner added 17 points for the Mustangs (23-8), who trailed by 10 at halftime and by as many as 18 after the break. Five Royals scored in double figures, led by Michael Fry's 20 points.
Fry also pulled down six of Hope's 10 offensive rebounds, an area that accentuated TMU's overall lack of energy. The Royals out-rebounded Master's 34-29.
"It was another slow start for us," said Master's head coach Kelvin Starr. "We've got to come ready to play from the jump. It was too little too late."
The Mustangs' best attempt at a comeback started with a Sam Boone dunk with exactly seven minutes remaining. McDowell-White made a three-pointer on TMU's next possession, and when McDowell-White connected again from distance with 4:51 on the clock, the Mustangs were within 10.
After a Tim Soares block, McDowell-White drove and wrapped a pass around a defender to Soares for another dunk. The once daunting deficit was eight, but that was as close as TMU would come.
The Royals (21-10) responded with a 5-0 run, and the lead remained in double digits the rest of the way, sealing a loss in which the Mustangs shot 52% from the floor but missed nine free throws and turned the ball over 16 times. Hope finished at 51% from the floor.
"We came out flat, and I believe it starts in practice," said Master's forward Michael Taylor. "We struggled in practice and it translated to the game."
Starr credited Taylor with providing the Mustangs with "excellent" energy. Taylor finished with five rebounds and a season-high 16 points, including the two that came when he skied to dunk a high-arcing alley-oop pass from Jay Turley in the first half.
Master's beat the Royals in both of the teams' regular season meetings, including a one-point win in Fullerton last month, but Hope has been playing its best basketball since then.
The Royals have now won six in a row, with victories over Arizona Christian, Westmont and Master's, all ranked teams.
McDowell-White was confident the Mustangs can still make a run.
"Energy and effort and sticking to your style of play can get you a win against any team, hence why Hope beat us today," McDowell-White said. "I felt like those same things that broke us down can build us up if we take a leaf from their book."
