Mustangs Prove Road Warriors Over Westmont

It has been one of the great rivalries in the Golden State Athletic Conference... The Master's Mustangs and the Westmont Warriors.

And Saturday night saw these two perennial powers play their final regular season conference game against each other.

It proved to be a winner for the Mustangs as they defeated the Warriors 81-65 at Kemperer Court in Santa Barbara.

Westmont will be moving to NCAA Division 2 in the fall, which gives this game a bit more meaning.

The Master's (15-6, 8-4 GSAC) shot 53% from the field, including 9-of-21 (43%) from behind the arc, while holding the Warriors to under 36% from the field. TMU also dominated the boards, out-rebounding the Warriors 43-25.

"We played as good as we've played all year, on both ends of the floor," said Head Coach Kelvin Starr. "We were really good at executing and as poised as we've been all year. (Westmont) came out and played hard. It was a good GSAC battle for sure."

A 39-35 Mustangs lead at the half grew to 47-35 compliments of an 8-0 run to start the second half. The lead grew to 14 points with 8:38 to play after a 3-pointer by Kaleb Lowery, but the Warriors refused to roll over. They scored eight straight to cut the lead to six and send their fans into a frenzy.

But the Mustangs asserted themselves once again, scoring 11 straight to go up by 17 with just 2:42 to play. That sent the home crowd to the exits.

Lowery scored a season-high 31 on 11-of-13 shooting, including 4-of-6 from 3-point range, to lead The Master's. Jordan Caruso finished with 17 and Caden Starr with 10. Victor Ohia Obioha pulled down a team-high 15 rebounds.

"Kaleb was special tonight," Starr said. "And it didn't show in the stats, but Deon (Earley) gave us key minutes after having been out for so long (with an injury). And Jordan (Starr) played his best game of the year. Victor (Ohia Obioha) was phenomenal, and Caden (Starr's) mentality was the difference. He hit a few early and that gave him more confidence to play more aggressive."

Despite the fact that The Master's has won 11 of the last 12 games, against Westmont it's always the next time these two teams meet that is the most important.

"It's been such a good rivalry, but it is disappointing to not have it anymore," Starr said. "It's been a fun environment whether we play in Santa Barbara or our gym. I will miss it."