No. 12 TMU Men's Basketball overcame a double-digit halftime deficit on Thursday to win, but the Mustangs weren't able to repeat the feat on Saturday on the road against sixth-ranked Arizona Christian University.
Master's outscored ACU by two points in the second half, but it wasn't enough to overturn a 15-point halftime deficit, as the Firestorm prevailed 70-57 in Golden State Athletic Conference action.
"We struggled to remain composed in the first half, which led to excessive turnovers," Master's Head Coach Kelvin Starr said. "Can't let a team as talented as ACU get a 15 point lead at the half. It was too much of an uphill battle."
Davian Brown's 3-pointer to open the game gave Master's an early edge, with TMU holding ACU scoreless for the opening four minutes.
The Firestorm then got on the board with a jumper, before Kaleb Lowery's triple extended the Mustangs' lead to four, the largest advantage they held.
ACU scored five-straight points to pull ahead, before a Gavin Lloyd two-pointer gave TMU its final lead of the game at 8-7.
Lloyd also scored the next two buckets for Master's, tying the contest at 12-12 with 10:41 remaining in the first half.
The Mustangs didn't score for the next five minutes, as an 8-0 Firestorm run gave the home side a lead it wouldn't relinquish.
ACU led by 15 at halftime and extended that to 21 by scoring the first six points of the second half. TMU got no closer than 12 the rest of the way before falling by 13 to drop to 6-2 overall and 1-2 in the GSAC.
"I was pleased with how hard we competed all game though," Starr said.
Lowery scored 21 points and added six rebounds, while Brown also scored in double figures with 11. Lloyd (six points) led Master's in rebounding with nine boards.
The Mustangs return to The MacArthur Center on Thursday for a 7:30 p.m. conference game against Hope International University.
"Back to the grind on Monday and it does get any easier with Hope International," Starr said. "Overall it was a great trip with the team. I love competing with these guys."
