Five Mustangs scored in double-figures as The Master's University men's basketball team rode an explosive first half to stave off a spirited comeback from West Coast Baptist College, 95-78, on Tuesday night in The MacArthur Center.
Kaleb Lowery recorded his second-straight 20-point double-double, tallying 20 points and 10 rebounds.
Gavin DeJong scored a Mustang career-high 18 points, to go along with his seven boards.
Caden Starr added 16 points and seven rebounds, while
DJ Wilson (14 points) and
Ryan Beddeo (11 points) also reached double digits in the scoring column.
"The balance was good," Master's head coach
Kelvin Starr said. "When we run our offense well, execute and move the ball, that's what happens. You get balanced scoring."
The Mustangs put up 55 points in the first half, their most in an opening period this season and their second-most in any half in 2020-21. After making just eight 3-pointers combined in the team's two losses to William Jessup last weekend, Master's made seven in the first half alone at a blistering 70.0% rate.
"We executed well the whole half,"
Kelvin Starr said of his team's opening 20 minutes. "We had 13 assists in the first half, which is pretty good."
TMU's 20-point halftime lead was cut down to eight just over two-and-a-half minutes into the second half after the Eagles scored in each of their first five possessions, including hitting 3-pointers during the first four.
"I've got to give credit to West Coast Baptist. They played their tails off,"
Kelvin Starr said. "They're undermanned and undersized, but they made it a ball game. They play hard on both ends of the floor. They are relentless and don't give up. Credit to Coach Curt Beeson."
That eight-point advantage was extended to 17, but the visitors trimmed it back down to seven with 6:01 to play, but the Mustangs found their groove again offensively late in the game to secure the victory.
"We did a good job executing offensively down the stretch when we needed buckets,"
Kelvin Starr said. "We ran our motion really well and got good buckets at the rim – Gavin's dunk, a kickout three for Caden, another kickout three for Kaleb and Ryan coming off the wing to the bucket. All those plays were in the half-court and were well-executed, which is a good sign."
Davian Brown (five points) led all players with eight assists, while not committing a turnover, orchestrating a Mustang offense that shot 60.7% overall and 50.0% from behind the arc.
Master's (10-3, 1-3 GSAC) is scheduled to return to the court on Thursday, when TMU travels to San Dimas (2-7, 1-7) to take on Life Pacific in Golden State Athletic Conference action. Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m.
