Seniors
DJ Wilson,
Gavin DeJong and
Ryan Beddeo combined for 53 points, but TMU Men's Basketball was unable to keep pace with fourth-ranked William Jessup University, falling 77-92 on Thursday night in Rocklin.
Â
"Ryan, Gavin D. and DJ all had good games tonight," Master's Head Coach
Kelvin Starr said. "Ryan was elite defensively on the best player in the GSAC."
Â
Beddeo limited WJU's Cashemin Williams to nine points, the first time he hasn't scored in double figures since Dec. 2.
Â
Jessup rode a hot start to lead by as many as 24 in the first half, before Master's scored the final six points of the period to go into halftime down by 18.
Â
"In the first half, it was a combination of Jessup going 9-for-13 from 3-point range and us not being able to convert open shots that was really the difference in the game," Starr said.
Â
Wilson scored TMU's first 10 points of the second half, helped by two of his four 3-pointers, reducing the Mustangs' deficit even further.
Â
"DJ came out firing in the second half, allowing us to get to within 10," Starr said.
Â
A
Kaleb Lowery layup two possessions later then decreased WJU's lead to eight, before a 15-3 Warrior run thwarted TMU's comeback bid.
Â
Wilson (21 points), DeJong (17 points, eight rebounds), Lowery (16 points, 12 rebounds) and Beddeo (15 points, six assists) scored all but eight of the Mustang points.
Â
Master's (18-10 overall, 7-10 GSAC) will now travel to Atherton to take on Menlo on Saturday at 2 p.m. in its Golden State Athletic Conference regular season finale.
Â
The winner of Saturday's game will earn the sixth seed in next week's Golden State Athletic Conference and earn a first-round bye.
Â
"It should be a battle considering our respective conference standings," Starr said.