Mustangs fall to Lions on Senior Night

TMU Men's Basketball couldn't overcome a 17-0 Vanguard run in the first half, as the Mustangs fell to the Lions 62-84 on Senior Night on Saturday inside the MacArthur Center.

"I was proud of how hard the guys competed even when we were down big," Master's Head Coach Kelvin Starr said. "Our seniors Gavin DeJong, Johnny McWilliams, Ryan Beddeo and DJ Wilson played so hard tonight in spite of things not going our way."
 
Master's started brightly, taking a quick 8-3 lead, with DeJong starting off his final home game as a Mustang by scoring six of TMU's first eight points.
 
That's when fortunes changed, as Vanguard scored the next 17 points, with TMU missing six shots and committing five turnovers over its next 11 possessions.
 
The Lions limited Master's to just 23 first-half points on 0-11 3-point shooting, with the visitors taking a 41-23 lead into halftime.

"Vanguard did a great job taking us out of our offense and we really struggled to score for long stretches," Starr said. "You can't win games going 0-11 from the 3 in the first half."
 
The Mustangs shot better in the second half, sinking four shots from behind the arc and connecting on 42.3% of its attempts compared to 35.7% in the first half.
 
However, it wasn't enough to keep up with the Lions, who led by as many as 34 with 8:52 to play before the Mustangs decreased their deficit to a final margin of 22.
 
DeJong led TMU with 16 points and eight rebounds, while fellow senior McWilliams scored 14.
 
Master's had a chance to tie Vanguard for fifth place in the conference with a win, but instead dropped to 17-9 overall (7-9 GSAC) and remain in sixth place.
 
The Mustangs conclude their regular season on the road at William Jessup on Thursday and at Menlo on Saturday before participating in the Golden State Athletic Conference Championships Feb. 23-26.