Mustangs put together strong defensive showing in loss to ACU

TMU Men's Basketball became just the fourth team to hold eighth-ranked Arizona Christian University to 67 points or fewer in a countable game this season, but wasn't able to keep pace with the Firestorm offensively, falling 53-67 in Golden State Athletic Conference action on Thursday night.
 
"I felt like we controlled the tempo for a lot of the game and played good defense, but we just couldn't score," Master's Head Coach Kelvin Starr said. "You can't beat a team that good if you can't put the ball in the hoop."
 
The game started brightly enough for the Mustangs, with two Jordan Starr triples giving Master's an early 6-0 advantage. But a 17-2 ACU run gave the Firestorm a nine-point lead. Jordan Starr hit another 3-pointer to beat the halftime buzzer, cutting TMU's deficit to seven going into the break.
 
A Jordan Starr jumper then got Master's to within five just a minute into the second half, but that was as close as the Mustangs would get the rest of the way, as a subsequent 6-0 ACU run put the visitors up by double-digits.
 
TMU did a nice job limiting the opposing offense, holding the Firestorm to 25% from behind the arc for the game. The problem was, Master's shot the same percentage and only mustered one triple in the second half, which came with under 10 seconds to play.
 
"We had them in the 50's until the end we started to press," Kelvin Starr said. "If we could've scored more, I feel like it would've been a game in the low 60's. We just need guys to make plays."
 
Jordan Starr led TMU with 17 points and nine rebounds, while Kaleb Lowery was the only other Mustang to score in double figures with 15.
 
Master's (12-7 overall, 3-7 GSAC), losers of four-straight, hope to return to the win column on Saturday with a 2 p.m. home game against Ottawa University Arizona. In the previous matchup between the two teams on Dec. 2, TMU overcame an 11-point halftime deficit to defeat OUAZ in overtime.