Master's rallies in second half to defeat OUAZ in OT

No. 12 TMU Men's Basketball fought back from an 11-point halftime deficit to force overtime and ultimately defeat Ottawa University Arizona, 79-76, for its first Golden State Athletic Conference win of the season.
 
"It was a tale of two halves," Master's Head Coach Kelvin Starr said. "We just played more physically and tougher on the offensive end in the second half."
 
Just five-and-a-half minutes into the game, OUAZ held a 12-point advantage after hitting eight of its first nine shots. Master's got to within three at the 7:58 mark, but the Spirit pulled away to restore its double-digit lead.
 
The home side forced 14 Mustang turnovers in the first half, limiting Master's to just 28 points, while shooting 51.7% from the field itself.
 
"We had to play zone for a few possessions because OUAZ was so efficient offensively and we were struggling to string together stops," Starr said.
 
Master's was able to get into more of a rhythm offensively in the second period, shooting 61.5% overall and 50.0% (4-for-8) from 3-point range after halftime.
 
A Caden Starr layup with 2:42 remaining gave TMU a one-point lead, its first of the game. Davian Brown's jumper extended that advantage to three, but an OUAZ triple with under a minute to play tied the game and forced overtime.
 
The Spirit seemed to be running away halfway through the overtime period, going on a mini 6-0 run, but the Mustangs held OUAZ scoreless over the final 2:49, during which Master's scored the final nine points of the game.
 
A Jordan Starr jumper tied the game at 76 apiece with 51 seconds left, before Thomas Lowery's steal allowed Brown to put TMU up for good with a fastbreak layup.
 
Lowery tacked on an insurance free throw with 12 seconds to play, extending the Mustangs' lead to three, before Master's forced an errant game-tying triple from OUAZ.
 
Coach Starr was very complimentary of OUAZ (6-3 overall, 1-2 GSAC), who defeated No. 19 Lewis-Clark State and NCAA Division I University of Denver earlier this season.
 
"I have great respect for the program Coach Keeley has built," Kelvin Starr said. "They will be right there when it's all said and done."
 
Caden Starr led TMU with 23 points, while Brown added 16 points of his own. Kaleb Lowery (three blocks) contributed 13 points and eight rebounds, while Jordan Starr tallied 10 points and a team-leading six assists. Gavin Lloyd's team-leading 10 rebounds helped the Mustangs maintain a 40-32 rebounding advantage.
 
"Caden was a big offensive lift off the bench with 23 in 24 minutes of play," Kelvin Starr said. "TJ Lowery had a massive steal in OT also and made a big free throw to seal it."
 
Master's (6-1 overall, 1-1 GSAC) wraps up its Arizona road trip with an NAIA Top-25 matchup, when the Mustangs take on sixth-ranked Arizona Christian University.